


Quantum Traveler

by grislupis



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: 69, Aircraft, Anger, Angst, Compartmentalized Emotions, Eventual Explicit sexual content, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, Extremely High Tech/Techincal Stuff made fun for the reader, F/M, Getting over bad situations, Historical References, No good guys die, Oral Sex, PTSD situations, Porn, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Quantum Computers, Quantum Mechanics, Scientists doing unethical research, Sexual Fantasy, Use of music within the story, emotional smut, firefighting, i believe in happy endings, quantum physics, some guy on guy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-05-26 00:16:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 96,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6215947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grislupis/pseuds/grislupis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An Air Force Test Pilot is unwittingly forced to become part of a horrendous and sinister instrument in an experiment, similar to that of Schrödinger's cat, by military scientists that are just smart enough to be dangerous. This is a perfect reason why mankind shouldn't be messing around with Quantum Computers or Quantum Mechanics when things go from bad to worse due to unforeseen consequences  and a mysterious security breach in the Pentagon's mainframe.<br/>Not only is this heroic test pilot in danger, she is forced to become a physical replacement in a virtual world, except it's not the one she was meant to participate in, it turns out to be a popular video game, and in this video game when you die.... it's permanent.<br/>Though she's no ordinary individual, equipped with multiple skill sets and attributes, she finds out firsthand how harrowing Fallout 4 can truly be. It's just a game right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the beginning ....

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, this is a fanfic that's drastically different from my other works in many respects. Please be nice to me, I have worked hard at improving my writing style and making my work a heck of a lot more interesting. I hope everyone enjoys what I have done here with this story and I'll update the tags as it progresses. Thanks for understanding, appreciating, and just plain being there.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Terra Hulsey, a distinguished Air Force Test pilot of sixteen years is facing not only legal troubles but military inquiry over a recent disaster during an important mission. Conspiracy, rumors and accusations abound but nothing is as it seems as a mysterious government front man holds all the cards and pulls the stings.
> 
> Here is a link to the song for you to listen to it for the full effect.
> 
> Song: Jackson Browne The Pretender link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQiXQUGbac0

The hot Mojave sun beat down on the little desert cabin all alone on the valley floor near the edge of a dry lake bed. It was late August, an American flag hung like a an old towel from the flag pole out front and the single occupant within pondered whether or not to take a drive. She sat in the living room looking into a black screen of a television set, curtains drawn and small rolls of smoke lifting away from her face as she smoked the cigar with her left hand. A loaded handgun laid on the table near the ash tray, it's silver finish glimmered in the passing sunlight as she sat listening to the past play out in her mind.

The old style rotary dial telephone rang loudly in the kitchen, _RING! RING! RING!_

A mechanical click activated a magnetic tape on the counter and the machine answered the call, it was a female voice, her own to be precise.

_"You have reached the home of Captain Hulsey, I'm not available to answer your call at the moment, if this an urgent matter you can call my Commanding Officer at Edwards Air Force Base seven-six-zero-five-four-four-nine-seven-nine-six and I will return your call as soon as possible, if this is a personal call please leave a message here and I will return your call when I get home. Thank you. BEEP!"_

The woman in the living room looked into the kitchen as the machine clicked and clacked on the counter and the individual on the other end of the line started talking, it was a woman's voice, she sounded very upset and half irritated.

_"Pick up the phone Terra. Terra....I know you're there Terra. This is going to be the fourteenth message I have left for you in the past three days, and if you don't get over here and pick up the receiver right now I'm going to call your CO and make him go over to your house to check on you. You hear me!? Pick up! Pick up! Pick up!"_

The woman got out of the chair, put the cigar out and walked into the kitchen picking up the receiver at the end of the pleading on the line. She blew the smoke out of her lungs as she lifted it up to her head. Her long black hair, at one time was a beautiful platinum blond, now spread across her shoulders and down her back to her waist, as she tilted her head back and spoke into the phone.

 _"I'm here. There's no need to call Major Tungsten, I really don't want to see him anyway."_ Her voice was low and sad.

_"There you are-finally! What have you been doing?! Hiding in your house this whole time, you know you will have to answer to the inquiry board tomorrow and that man in the black suit was calling here again. I don't know what he wants but you need to get yourself straightened out Terra."_

Her voice was shaking on the other end of the phone and Terra put her hand over her face in an attempt to stop her tears.

_"I understand, pay no attention to that man Janet. He's after me for a job and I have a contact still through the Air Force so if he calls again tell him to fuck off! And another thing I got your wire on that project you were hounding me about, I need another day to think about it okay?"_

The tears began to wet her eyes and escape down her face without protest. She lifted her face to the ceiling and sucked in the air through perched lips trying not to let on she was crying again.

_"Terra? Is everything okay? This isn't the first time that you crashed an aircraft out there you know. I understand that John's loss has taken its toll on you but it's been three months since his death. He was--he was your best friend and an excellent pilot in his own right but you were always the light of the program, please try and make it back to us Terra. If for nothing else do it for yourself, he would have never wanted you to be like this, you both understood the risks and these things happen. Terra? Terra are you there?"_

Terra took the receiver away from her ear and covered it while she leaned against the counter and bawled. There was no stopping it now and she didn't like to show people how she felt, even if they couldn't see her. She took in a deep breath and put the phone back against her ear.

 _"Don't worry about me Janet. I'll be back before you know it---"_ Her voice cracking on the line and she sputtered as she squeezed out the end of her sentence. _" I--- I have to go, that man was coming to meet me today and I need to get this out of my system before I see him. Okay? I'll call you after the board of inquiry has their fill of me and then we can pick up where we left off okay? Janet?"_

Her hands were shaking as she held the receiver to her head, the tears running over her neck and into the top of shirt, making it dampened where they fell.

_"Okay Terra. I didn't mean to upset you. Please take care and I'll call you okay. Don't worry about all this rhetoric they are trying to throw at you, it'll all blow over, you'll see. Goodbye Terra."_

_"Goodbye."_

She slowly let the receiver drop onto the top of the telephone as she cried up against the wall in the kitchen. She ran her hand through her hair and looked over at the wall in the living room. It was adorned with all the awards and recognition she had received from the military and the fire service.

The trophy's, model's of different jet aircraft, and many photographs covered the entire wall. The display cases of different things signed by famous people in her life from the military test pilot program, showing the dust of time and absence of their master. A single picture of her standing in a flight suit in front of an SR-71 Blackbird with a man, dressed in the same fashion, his arm around her and they were both waving to the camera. The signatures on the bottom of the photo were Terra Hulsey and John McKeenly.

She brushed the photo with his fingertips gently as the tears kept on. Not many people knew of their true relationship and they would never know if she had her way. There were things in life that everyone eventually takes to the grave and in this instance his memory was one of them. In this line of work it was hard to have a private life when you were property of the government.

She wiped her face, turning away from the room, and the photo of the past that was now a mere memory. Grabbing the brown leather, patch clad, flight jacket from the dining room chair , a pair of classified folders sitting in wait on her desk as she walked by tapping them as she went and vanished into the garage. She let the door slowly close against her back as her gaze ran over the silhouette of a car under its cover hidden under dust in the darkened garage.

A harley-davidson hid in the corner under its own cover, it watched her as she passed over to the front right fender of the car and ran her fingers over the canvas. The garage was stark compared to the house itself, only a few metal signs on the walls and these two vehicles inside other than a tool chest on the opposite wall. She flung the jacket over one shoulder, her eyes searching over the surface of the canvas before reaching down over the front edge and lifting it away. The dust in the air slowly floating around her and the car, a black 1969 Corvette Stingray.

She bought that car right after she got her wings pinned to her chest and had it built up to her specifications. That car was her escape, other than her harley, but right now she needed to push the limits and get that adrenaline flowing to stop the tears, the tears of a crying, shattered heart.

She opened the garage door with its heavy wooden swing, got in the stingray and fired it right up. Tossing her jacket on the passenger seat, she ran her hands over all the control surfaces and kissed the steering wheel. The black leather interior smelled just as it did when it was freshly installed and it made her feel relaxed, like sitting inside of an extensive leather glove, broken in and a perfect fit.

_"Oh baby, it's good to be back in your loving interior, let's go tear some shit up!"_

She smiled as she backed out of the garage, got out and let it idle at a high RPM in the yard as she locked up the place. It sat out there and purred as she did her work, she looked at the file folders again tapping her fingers on them as she looked, one was from NASA and the other from the U.S. Navy. She didn't know what to do with them exactly so she scooped them up and shoved them under her arm, leaving the room and locking the door. Tossing the folders on her jacket she slid an eight-track into the player in the console of the vette.

A slightly sad, yet invigorating song started blasting away as she roared off with the symphony of the 427 under the hood, spinning the dirt beneath her wheels, and the small pebbles licking the quarter panels of the machine as she peeled out of her yard at a high rate of speed.

 

_I'm going to rent myself a house In the shade of the freeway_

_I'm going to pack my lunch in the morning_

_And go to work each day_

_And when the evening rolls around I'll go on home and lay my body down_

_And when the morning light comes streaming in I'll get up and do it again_

_Amen_

_Say it again_

_Amen_

 

_I want to know what became of the changes_

_We waited for love to bring_

_Were they only the fitful dreams_

_Of some greater awakening_

_I've been aware of the time going by_

_They say in the end it's the wink of an eye_

_And when the morning light comes streaming in_

_You'll get up and do it again_

_Amen_

 

_Caught between the longing for love_

_And the struggle for the legal tender_

_Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring_

_And the junk man pounds his fender_

_Where the veterans dream of the fight_

_Fast asleep at the traffic light_

_And the children solemnly wait_

_For the ice cream vendor_

_Out into the cool of the evening_

_Strolls the Pretender_

_He knows that all his hopes and dreams_

_Begin and end there_

 

_Ah the laughter of the lovers_

_As they run through the night_

_Leaving nothing for the others_

_But to choose off and fight_

_And tear at the world with all their might_

_While the ships bearing their dreams_

_Sail out of sight_

 

_I'm going to find myself a girl_

_Who can show me what laughter means_

_And we'll fill in the missing colors In each other's paint-by-number dreams_

_And then we'll put our dark glasses on_

_And we'll make love until our strength is gone_

_And when the morning light comes streaming in_

_We'll get up and do it again_

_Get it up again_

 

_I'm going to be a happy idiot_

_And struggle for the legal tender_

_Where the ads take aim and lay their claim_

_To the heart and the soul of the spender_

_And believe in whatever may lie In those things that money can buy_

_Though true love could have been a contender_

_Are you there?_

_Say a prayer for the Pretender_

_Who started out so young and strong_

_Only to surrender_

 

That's how she felt deep down inside, the great pretender, Terra Hulsey. Her emotions had become so compartmentalized that she sometimes felt inhuman and timid due to her continuous involvement with the 'service' as it was put. She had been so strong against the things they force upon her will, but in the end all she could do was surrender against their incredible might. The picture was truly bigger than just a single individual.

The sun would be setting soon as she blasted across the desert floor, pushing the car harder as if she were running into the sun, to let it burn away the horrors of her past that haunted her every waking moment and everlasting nightmarish dreams of the night. She pushed the pedal down harder yet and the car sped down the dirt road towards what was once a hot spot for officers in the air force, the old starlight night club, or at least it's old burned out shell of a memory that sat deserted in the dirt of the Mojave.

The car blasted right past the shell of memories, the pain that stemmed from so much happiness, at over one hundred and thirty miles an hour. She slammed the brakes on, snapping back the emergency brake, spinning he machine's wheels wildly into circles on the empty road and spun back to her original destination. She sped over to the old parking area and slammed the brakes again bringing the car in sideways as she had done in the long lost past. A stunt she had done when it was still a place to hang out, to drink over liquor and laugh about the missions that weren't allowed to discuss with any other living souls, other than those involved.

She opened the door slowly, looking over the place, stood up putting her arm over the t-top, and laying her chin on her arm. She slowly closed the door, leaving the keys in the ignition and walked around the ruin, which now only consisted of a burned out basement. After her little stroll she got on the hood of the car and laid out over it with her head against the windshield, looking up at that the changing sky.

Someone once said that when the sunset comes, it was the only way for the daylight to show that it didn't want to die and the more beautiful the sunset, the more of a fight the day was putting up before it was slain by the darkness of nightfall. In a way it was some sort of sad poetry and in another it was like with people in battle, they fight their hardest right before their deaths and they are then branded heroes for their actions of bravery for those who managed to survive. There were no heroes for the death of this day as it lost its battle with the twilight though. Somehow the darkness of the night always won in the evening but the light returned to wage that endless battle over again the next morning with a brand new dawn. That's something that we all take for granted, another tomorrow, and make no mistake that if you ever ask yourself the strange question of; _"what if--there is no tomorrow?"_ \--Well, that's when you know that you haven't forgotten to be thankful for the day that just passed.

She got inside the car for a moment to retrieve her jacket, and returned to her previous position on the hood. She felt the heat rise through the hood from the hot engine, laid on it for enjoyment as the heat ran over her back and listened to the faint sounds of car tires crunching over the dirt road as they approached from afar. She knew who it was, the man in the black suit calling upon her, and making their meeting in past places as to not be looked upon by anyone other than the devil and possibly even god. She didn't have much faith these days with all the unforeseen circumstances, all for the betterment of humanity they told her. She played the part of 'good sport', for now and they continued their 'scientific pursuits'.

This meeting however, dealt with her actions and her future alone, nothing less and nothing more. She got over her little 'episode' from earlier and looked as if nothing were wrong, except the fact that she had been on leave, pending investigation, for the past three months. The black machine slithered up the ribbon of road towards her position and she hardened as its sinister aura slowly overtook her position. The car slowly pulled up next to her, the black limousine, and the rear window rolled down. The man inside peered out at her and she looked over at him, unmoved be his presence there or the hum of his vehicle's engine as it sat. Her cold blue eyes searching the dark interior of the car for the ever elusive man in the black suit whom sat just out of sight, smoking a cigarette, waiting for her reply to his arrival.

She swung her legs down to the ground, the dust from her feet licking up on her boots, a man from the front of the vehicle got out and opened the rear door for her. She looked inside and then at him for a moment.

_"I know what happens to people that get into this car with you. I'm not going to do that, you wanted to talk to me, so you get out of there and we can talk in my car if that suits you."_

She backed away from the open door as a black shoe dropped down into the dirt, a black dress sock inside of it, followed by a man in a black suit. He looked down at her as stood up just outside the door, his green eyes scanning her for weapons as he took a drag from his cigarette. His silvery hair had been trimmed on the sides and formed a flat top on his head, she searched his figure for anything obvious to his identity but stopped when her eyes met his. He stood at six foot one, a tall handsome man of about fifty five or possibly even sixty, he smiled at her scan and it was surprisingly warm.

_"So I understand you seem to know a bit about me, but I know a lot more about you than anyone would like to admit."_

She was slightly shocked by his opening statement, but it had been his nature to do things like that, so she found out. "What do you want from me?" She snarled as she leaned against the fender of her car. He slowly walked around her car before tossing the smoke to the ground and returning to the conversation.

_"I am here to give you an ultimatum. I know all about your relationship with the late John McKeenly, even though you had nothing to do with his death, this is a complication that you don't need in your career as it currently stands."_

He put his hands behind his back and walked right up to her, they now stood face to face with him leaning into her slightly.

_"You are going before the board of inquiry in the morning, I will see to it that you are acquitted and dismissed, if you agree to a new contract with the Air Force and some minor details. I wouldn't want the deaths of your crew members to be tarnished by your reckless oversight with a personal relationship with your former co-pilot. I know the truth of the that crash, the B-52 you were piloting had been taken out of service last year for problems with the APU system failing during landing. I know this because I was the one to have it taken out of service, so I have inside information on your case, now do you care to make a statement about your relationship in front of five high ranking members of the air force or not?"_

His hot words splattering her like boiling grease as they reached her ears. The conversation had turned out to be a one way street and she stood in disillusion as to how or why he was saying these things. She stood there looking up at him for a moment longer before she finally snapped the tension.

_"Okay, I'll do whatever it takes to keep their names clean. I never meant for it to have gone as far as it did and you were right, I was reckless with John. What is this that you want me to do?"_

He smiled in reply to her decision and leaned against the car next to her, pulling out a silver cigarette box, removing a smoke and lighting it. He stood there enjoying his small first victory, swallowing the smoke and blowing it back into the atmosphere after the taste left him mouth.

_"Well now that's a very sensible question you have put before me. As a test pilot you have had to go through the most vigorous training and medical testing on the planet. I am going to have you transferred to the pentagon research division as a test pilot for a most unusual device. The contract is ten years long and you will have everything in order before you leave for your inquiry in the morning. I have all the papers right here and all you have to do is sign."_

He took an expensive pen from his chest pocket and flicked the end of it. She took the pen, signed the document of official orders and handed it back to him.

_"You can consider the inquiry over with now and here are tickets for Washington D.C., right after the meeting you are to depart at exactly eleven o'clock in the morning and my man will meet you on the ground at a secure air strip just outside the pentagon. You've done well to honor the memories of your dead team mates, the cost has been so very high for you, but don't fear the future it'll only make it harder for you to believe in what you must do. You're country needs you Captain, and I'm honored you have risen to the call."_

He handed her a docket of paperwork from inside his car. She looked it over as he slowly got back inside his limousine, the window still down and the twilight showing its age as the stars began to twinkle above them.

 _"Wait, who are you?"_ She asked as the car stopped and he looked back out at her smiling.

_"I'm just a ghost that's on your side. Don't forget that now, I'm always watching you and I'll look out for you as long as you do as I say."_

The window rolled up as the car drove off, and it vanished off into the distance with the dust of the road circling the rear of the black car, leaving only the faint taillights as evidence, shining back in her direction. She looked back down at the papers before getting back into the stingray and heading home for the night.

She didn't sleep at all as the words of the man swirled in her endlessly restless mind, the new mission spinning with an inconsistent resonance, her pacing back and forth in the house making it hard for her to swallow her pride, as she was already full of hauntingly depressing memories of death that surrounded her. She took the other two contracts, one from NASA and the from the U.S. Navy, and shredded them in her paper machine. After they we turned into nothing more than mulch she lit a fire in her fireplace and burned their remains to little more than ashes.

She had packed everything into her bags and they waited by her front door, for the military police to pick her up in the morning light. The stingray laid under its blanket in the garage, never to be driven again, the house all the furniture covered with sheets for the long departure and the photograph she cherished so, laid to rest inside the dark drawer of her desk, never to see the light of day again as it's memory was now slowly fading away.

She waited for the signal as the car pulled up out front, she took the bags from their place, nodded goodbye to the house and left. The deadbolt turned and the house laid in wait for its masters' eventual return, silently still as the sun slowly caressed its figure on the desert floor, alone, empty and devoid of life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like this story please leave kudos and I hope you enjoyed, and have a great rest of your day!


	2. Board of Inquiry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Facing a board of inquiry is a daunting task at best and with everything on the line that government front man had better hold up his end of the bargain. But in doing so will old memories crop up and spoil her spirit to continue her end of the deal?

The beeping horn rippled outside against the asbestos siding of the old cabin. The military men waiting for the door to open and her to appear. She stirred inside, placing things where they would be for an extended period of time untouched and made way for the door. She opened it with creak of the knob, set her bags outside and took one last look inside the place see called home for so long. She slowly slid the door closed, leaving behind only a faint smell of perfume as the dust floating in the air settled around on every interior surface, empty and longing.

She was speeding away to the board of inquiry, finding it as she was told, a fixed race against innocent people and a scheme only a high ranking government front man could pull off. The building was old but well maintained with many military policemen walking around the grounds. A JAG lawyer here and there and many other types of personal going to and fro. She strolled out into the sun, saluting the flag in the front garden area and entering the receiving area of the court. She gave her information to the secretary, signed in and sat in a chair, one of many, that lined the walls that lead into the court chambers. Soon she was called inside, the courtroom was setup much like it had always been, seats behind a low rail fence with a gate to the stand, a stage in front of the bench of five judges and within the center of it a single empty chair. She was handed a bible, rose her left hand holding it in her right and swore upon it as ordered by the court.

_"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god?"_

_"I do your honor."_ She replied as necessary.

 _"You may be seated, this court is now in session."_ The hammer slammed the bench with a loud crack.

There she sat in front of the five military judges, their name plates highly visible on the bench before them, Major Jackson, Colonel Hayes, Lt. Colonel Jeffory, Major Cromsley and Lt. Colonel Utvick, they watched her and asked all the usual questions.

 _"Captain Hulsey, it's under this courts knowledge that you were the pilot in command of HR7-42 for the duration of its mission, yes?"_ Asked Colonel Hayes, he was the presiding judge and did all the talking.

She didn't break eye contact with the Colonel as he sat he there at the bench waiting for her reply.

 _"Yes sir, I was."_ Her reply was quick and sharp.

The men on the bench shifted slightly as they flipped through their papers and watched her at the same time. She sat without movement just the rise and fall of her chest as she took in the atmosphere around her.

_"Did you properly review the flight logs and maintenance schedules of said aircraft before you left for your mission?"_

His eyes searching her for anything other than what she projected herself to be.

_"Yes sir. You will see that I personally signed off the aircraft, pre-flight check lists and all other types of pre-flight logs before the crew took their positions and we left for the mission."_

He looked back down at the papers as the others on the bench talked lightly about the case.

One of the other men, Major Jackson, tapped the Colonel on the shoulder, he leaned into him as he whispered something into his ear and the Colonel returned to her once again.

She didn't like the look that was now in his eyes as he began to speak to her. Whatever was going on with them changed the Colonel's position on the case rapidly and almost completely. He swallowed down whatever was bothering him and closed the case file that laid open before him on the bench. He folded his hands and placed them atop the folder his eyes ripping her to ribbons with accusations unsaid in the open air.

_"After substantial review by this board we heard by declare your case dismissed. This court's findings have shown that the aircraft itself had structural damages that were not visible to yourself or the any member of that aircraft's crew, including the support team on the group assigned to said aircraft. You have been fully reinstated to active duty Captain, congratulations."_

The hammer slammed down on the bench and the case was over with. She stood, saluted them all and was dismissed from the court room.

The scene that unfolded there in that courtroom seemed like it were surreal, a complete fabrication from the actual reality, it made her feel detached and used. It went just as that man said it would, to the tee and it was over in a matter of a few minutes. They only asked a few questions before tossing it in the circular file at the end of the bench.

This entire thing was not only a waste of time but a disgrace of military justice, what if she had crashed in purpose? Would it have gone the same? Changed by the whim of some man whose identity was shrouded in darkness and mystery? Yes, it probably would have as a matter of fact and she left it at that. It was over and now water under the bridge, the journey had to now continue as planned.

She got on the plane, sat next to the window in silence the entire trip and contemplated what lie ahead for her. What did they really want from me, to go through all this trouble?

She was lost to her memories again, physically sitting in that chair but her mind was miles and years away from where she was in essence.

She sat in the commanders seat of HR7-42, a B-52 Stratofortress that was manufactured in 1964. The crew performing their checks as she did in the cockpit with her co-pilot Jack McLean. John had been assigned to a training mission for some of the newest pilots from the academy that day, and they both had very important missions ahead of them. Jack was a great co-pilot, he had logged thousands of hours in a similar B-52 but so had she. They were now taxiing over to the runway, the plane was perfect and the retrofits were holding at one hundred percent. They blasted away into the sky, everything was normal up to that point and as the plane banked over to the right lifting higher and higher the warning light came on for the APU. It was flashing, the alert sounding loudly in the cockpit as she leveled out and dropped the landing gear immediately.

The signalman, radio operator, was on the line with the tower alerting them of our loss of the APU and our emergency landing. She was dumping the fuel and running all the systems on the analog backup systems when the plane shuttered violently. They were still over the dry lake bed at about 3500 feet when the number four and five engines exploded into flames.

She gripped the seat of the plane that sat in physically as the memory draw her back into it, as if it were happening all over again.

The fire control system wasn't responding to anyone's commands and the plane slowly made its way down to the lake bed. The fuel that remained in the wings of the plane was enough that if they hit the ground too hard they would all die in a fuel fire. There was no panic on the plane as they shut down systems, quickly and systematically. It was when they were only about five hundred feet above the deck when the yoke became unbearablely hard to control. Both her and Jack grasping the controls, telling their crew to brace for impact when they slammed into the lake bed floor. The twisting metal bursting at the seams, the fire exploding into the fuselage as the wings ripped away violently and the screams of the crew as the fire found them.

The nomex flight suits they wore did little good when soaked in jet fuel. She had managed to help Jack get the radio operator out of the wreckage, as they fell to the ground the faint sounds of sirens could be heard over the horizon as they approached rapidly.

They dragged his body about fifty yards or so from the plane when there was another explosion, the metal parts of an engine ripping past them as they slammed to the ground but Jack had caught one of them. She lifted her head off the dirt of the lakebed and looked over at Jack who sputtered with blood running out of his mouth. He laid on his stomach with a large piece of steel protruding from his back, and she grabbed onto him in his last dying breathe. He looked at her and smiled as she held his head against her chest. He died in her arms, his blood spilling out over the earth and her flight suit.

Little did she know that during this ordeal John had met a similar fate, suffering a midair collision with one of the other aircraft on his flight team, and plummeting to the ground in a fiery wreck himself.

The sound of the fire consuming the airplane, the smell of the burning jet fuel had been laced with the smells of the burning flesh and hair of the dead crew that were trapped inside their steel prison. She remembered that smell from the first time she smelled it while working with the fire department as a cadet. That was one of those things that you can never forget no matter how hard you try, every time you smell it, the pain finds a way to return. Burning to death was the worst way to go, it had its very own way of violence that was unmatched by every other form of death in her book, and it was a daily torture to her as she continued to survive these horrors that she faced in her occupation.

The tears started to well up in her eyes as she came back to reality, removing herself from the memories and returning to the view outside the window glass. She didn't let the tears come, she swallowed them back and pushed them far away. Those tears were for Jack, were for her professional crew and trusted individuals, not John. Before she knew it they were landing, the wheels squealing against the tarmac under the belly of the plane and the forward motion slowing significantly. A car waited for her at the hanger where the plane slowly taxied and stopped, a man in a black suit there, a younger man than the mystery man, waiting for her.

Some men placed her bags inside the car and the man in the suit opened the rear door for her, as she sat in the car and he closed the door, she thought of John. It was the first time she thought of him without going to tears, as the man got in the driver's seat, started the car and they drove to the pentagon.

She remembered their first meeting, John McKeenly, he opened the door for her on a taxi cab and they ended up sharing as they were driven all over Los Angeles. She sat in her happy memories as they laughed and pointed out the windows at things they saw, and suddenly they were snapped away as she was brought back to reality by the stranger that drove her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos if you liked it. Thanks!


	3. The Pentagonal Paradox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Terra Hulsey has reached her destination, for now. What lays ahead for her in the research sector only known as Section Seventeen? To find out she first has to take on an interview with the enigmatic Dr. Ronald Murry. If she can pull this off she'd be the first to yank the rug out from under that old goat if she doesn't get caught in the act that is....by her own disturbing memories of old that have a nasty habit of creeping up at the worst of times.

_"Your destination ma'am. Your belongings will be brought down to your quarters by a member of the military police. Please proceed to the security check point, they will show you where to go from there."_

She got out of the car and thanked the man before walking over to the check point. There were any men there watching her approach, her dress uniform pressed and sharply distinguished compared to most other officers, except the highest ranking Colonels and Generals, that frequented the Pentagon these days. She marched over to them, they all snapped and saluted her as she returned it they were in awe of her presence.

Her reputation had proceeded her arrival in the forms of the newspapers, radio broadcasts, other official orders and rumors that ran like wildfire over the facility. Their whispers fell silent as she approached with all her confidence, that was what they expected from someone of her caliber. She signed into the complex, her hat under her arm as she rode the elevator down to the lower levels of the pentagon to reach the research facility and meet up with her new commanding officer.

She strode down the hallway to the end where she was met by a pair of huge blast doors, the amber line on the floor marking the door swing direction, and a crackle came over the intercom next to the door to the right, making a yellow light flash suddenly above it on the wall.

 _"Captain Hulsey, please stand back as we open the blast doors, after which you may proceed inside to the reception desk. Thank you."_ The man's voice prompt and to the point as the doors hissed, the latches inside sliding back into themselves and the doors slowly swung open on their hinges.

She stood like a statue to them, looking at the camera above momentarily and then proceeding inside to her destination when the time was right. Her steps were with purpose, quick and light as they tapped the concrete beneath them, she vanished past the doors as they swung closed, locking her deep inside their prison. Every move she made was crisp and calculated, being trained as a tactician from childhood made her even more clean under the pressures she faced within these walls.

The receptionist was slightly startled by her presence as she had dropped her hat rather loudly on her desk, giving her a glare at not paying much attention to her surroundings. The secretary started to stand when Captain Hulsey held her hand up in an unspoken 'please sit' motion. She signed the paper on her desk, handed her a copy of the folded official orders, which the secretary stamped, and handed back. She nodded to her, took the hat from where it laid and walked into the laboratory section of the facility.

A seal adorned the door to all those that entered, U. S. Air Force Research Corps. and beneath it said Section Seventeen: Top Secret Classified Clearances ONLY. The doors silently swung behind her as the woman at the desk slowly stood looking over in that direction, watching her, as the only thing left behind other than her signature was the faint sound of her dress shoes clicking as her heels touched the floor with each step down the sterile white corridor.

She took her key card out of her chest pocket, slid it in the reader next to the only door in the wing, punched in her code, and as she swung open the door to enter, a large group of military scientists on the other side stopped what they were doing and looked at the open doorway. She stepped inside with confidence, all the sets of eyes watching in anticipation, as the legendary test pilot entered the room silently saluting them all at once and proceeded through to the CO's office on the opposite side of the large open area.

The wooden door had venetian blinds behind its pristine glass and a gold leafed name painted on the glass read: Colonel Jackson, U.S. Air Force Special Research Operations Division. She knocked three times before summoned inside by the Colonel. The other's rubber necked as she slowly disappeared inside the Colonel's office and the work slowly resumed as they waited for her to exit, ever watching the door as if it were their enemy.

She walked inside, saluted the Colonel who now stood at his desk with both hands flat on its top and he returned the salute as she handed him a folded copy of her official orders.

 _"Colonel, Captain Terra Hulsey reporting for duty Sir!"_ He motioned for her to sit in the chair by her side as he read the orders and sat back down himself.

_"Captain, I'm pleased to have you here under my command, we strive to complete great ambitions here. I can count on you to help make that happen, I assure you that this mission is right up your alley."_

He raised an eye brow reading the orders, folded them back up and placed them inside the top desk drawer before looking her in the eye for the first time.

_"I understand that you have the best record for a test pilot, that's still alive mind you, in our great military. Due to your expertise, experience and knowledge in this field we have selected you for a mission of utmost importance to this country and its people. I know you appreciate the amplitude of pressure we are going to put you under but under no circumstances are you to leave this facility after you take the appointment. With that said, the appoint already taken, I will escort you to the mission site personally, and you can be briefed properly by the lead scientist on the project."_

He stood up after completing his statement and she follow suit. He motioned to the door and she opened it as he put his dress jacket on from where it hung on the coat tree near the door. They left the room, all the sets of eyes watching them depart silently, wondering what was going to become of her in their deep, endless facility under the command of their trusted Colonel.

They slipped into the corridor and made their way to the elevator at the end of the massive hall. He slid his key card and the door slid open to transport them to their next adventure. He watched her for a few moments as she stood silent during the beginning of the trip down into the earth.

 _"I have a great understanding of most people Captain, but you elude me with your presence here. It has been brought to my attention that you hold a degree in Quantum Physics, and NASA was making a pass at you. Is any of this true?"_ She smiled and looked over at him.

 _"Yes sir, it's all true so far. I had wanted to be an astronaut at one point during my career but my superiors had other plans for me."_ He nodded and leaned against the wall of the elevator.

_"I see. Well you have found a place here that is in desperate need of someone with your qualities. After you meet the head scientist I will have to escort you to a rather painful, unscrupulous meeting with our division psychiatrist, Dr. Ronald Murry. He's a bit different but I have confidence that he won't have a problem with you or your past."_

The elevator stopped, the happy little DING! opened the doors for them and they walked out of the elevator towards a set of blast doors. His last statement, about her past, haunted her deep inside her mind and she wasn't sure what he knew exactly.

They walked slowly up to the line as the door opened for them, and pressed on to the lab where all these ambitions were becoming realized. As they opened the white door into the next area she looked into his eyes, they were slightly saddened but filled with anticipation for what happened next was something that wasn't even thought of as a possibility. Inside the open door stood a slender, older woman in a lab coat and when her gaze met that of the Captain it was nearly appalling.

Terra shuttered when she saw who waited there for her arrival, it was her friend from the University Janet Langdon. The woman that called and called, making her cry and worrying about her from afar, but now that distance had closed into a very small space. They both stood in awe of each other, not fully grasping the realization that they were now face to face after over a decade apart in person but only a day over the phone.

 _"Janet?"_ She squeezed out as the Colonel watched the event unfold. They hugged each other hard and the laughter started as they finally let reality set in.

 _"I had no idea they were transferring you here. I'm so happy this will just be marvelous!"_ Janet was so happy that she started crying and the Colonel had to turn away from them for a moment to catch himself.

 _"I have to meet up with Dr. Murry now but I hope for a full briefing when I return Janet. It's so good to see you."_ She held Janet's hands in her own for a moment more before leaving with the Colonel for the doctor.

She knew what they did here after learning that Janet was the lead on the project, it was an old dream of hers and Terra knew what she had to do. She thought back to her days at university with Janet and this whole damn thing was actually her idea.

_'What if we could build a system to transport someone from our three dimensional world into the four dimensional world known as the Quantum World? If we had a quantum machine to transport into then we could get firsthand knowledge of how the quantum world actually works and interacts with our own world, and the effects and changes that make difference in each other those worlds.'_

Her words in a conversation from the past made her smile as it did Janet, the unspoken words of old friends was now a reality with an incredible undertaking before them. Janet thought the same thing after Terra left the room and she tugged at her lab coat with anticipation of the next conversation they would have with each other.

The Colonel closed the doors on the elevator as they rode to the doctor's place. He was now captivated by what he had witnessed, the reunion of these two and they didn't even know of the arrangement.

 _"Captain? May I speak to you off the record for a moment?"_ He was a little uneasy but it was something he felt he had to do.

 _"Feel free Colonel."_ She replied looking blankly at the elevator doors.

_"The man in the black suit--"_

She snapped her eyes into his so hard he felt the back of head thump. The look in her eyes was like that of nuclear bombs falling over his face with the gamma radiation of death, he knew that struck a chord but he didn't mean it like that.

 _"What about him?!"_ She snarled in an angry tone almost a curse upon her breath.

The Colonel was frightened of her now as he watched the darkness reach out from around her body towards him and knew that she and that man were somehow involved with each other on some level anyway.

_"He's the one that has orchestrated this whole plan, he is the one that placed us all here in this facility under his control and later this afternoon he will be here to receive you. You understand that the first test will take place tonight right after the meeting with Doctor Murry, and he was very insistent on your wearing a very unusual set of equipment measures on this mission. I hope you understand this is in confidence Captain, he has a plan, he's had it for a long time and all of us here is no coincidence."_

She stood there watching his face, expressions and reactions to his own words. She sucked in the air as if it were a lost cause to form her statement.

_"I understand, I had to make a deal with him to stay alive even. He has gone through great obstacles to get me here, I'm sure he's done the same with the rest of us and make no mistake that I understand the danger of the situation Colonel. Thank you for seeking confidence here with me, but there's only one way we can all go and that's his way. We are little puppets in his game."_

The Colonel nodded slowly as the elevator stopped and the door allowed them to escape to the hallway where they entered the office of Dr. Ronald Murry.

Her hand slowly reached up to the knob and the Colonel put his palm on the door holding for a moment. She looked at him as he formulated what he was about to say.

_"Be careful with him, don't let him try any of his fancy mind tricks on you. Trust me and hold him hostage for once."_

He lifted his hand as she nodded to him and the door opened.

They stepped into the domain of the slightly deranged Doctor Ronald Murry. He waited in his wing tipped chair, smoke rising from his lips as he smiled at their arrival. The room looked like it had been transplanted there from a castle of Bavaria of something like that. He was an old man, probably seventy five or so, round glasses and white hair that was trimmed neatly on his head. He was equally creepy as he was intelligent as he watched us walk into his parlor as a spider would watch a fly.

 _"Ah, Colonel Johnston, and Captain Hulsey. It's so nice to receive you here, please come sit down on this day bed so we might start the process. Colonel I will ring you when it's time, good day sir."_ The Colonel excused himself and the door closed leaving Hulsey in the hands of Dr. Murry.

She slowly sat on the day bed and Doctor Murry turned to her after he heard the elevator start again. _"I'm Doctor Murry, I'm certain that you have been briefed about me and my position here at this facility?"_ He sat back down in his chair facing her.

 _"Yes Doctor."_ She said looking around the room at everything. She felt this place had eyes everywhere as well as the ears that went with them. The doctor knew by watching her reaction to this room she would not be one to volunteer information easily.

He continued to watch her as she scanned the room slowly as if to find something out of the ordinary there.

_"Well then. Let's start from the beginning then, I understand that your parents are both deceased and that the first time you wore a uniform was when you were seven years old. The Army Youth Corps. to be exact, after that you went on the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, in all your years of middle school and high school even. But in high school you thought you wanted to be a firefighter so you did double duty with the Air Force ROTC and the Chicago Fire Department Cadet Training Units. A doctor in Chicago once treated you for post traumatic stress after a fire you went on, care to tell me about that experience?"_

She shifted nervously under the tight scrutiny she found herself in at this moment. How did he ever get his hands on that? She wondered as she laid down on the bed, toeing off her dress shoes as to not soil the fabric with their souls.

 _"Well if I have too fine."_ She swallowed hard looking only at the ceiling above.

 _"You do so let's hear it."_ The doctor tapped his pencil on the file folder he had produced without her knowledge.

She sighed heavily as she started to go back to that time in her life, it was dark and cold. Her mother had died recently and that made her father go into an alcoholic rage against himself. He would hit her if she didn't get good grades and that's how the kitchen window got broken that spring. She had been doing so well that she was accepted into the special cadet program in the Chicago FD, a cadet was chosen each spring to work a six month stent in a fire house like a regular firefighter on the crew. She had it now and now she attempted to recount it back to the doctor.

_"It was a long time ago, I was fourteen years old, and I had been selected for a position on a hook and ladder rescue crew in south Chicago. The training had been tough but I had the credits from the ROTC units and that helped propel me into that spot. I was more than qualified for it and that summer I was standing there at the door, greeted by Captain Keane, Engineer Mallory and Firefighter Hudson. They were now my family for the summer and some of the fall, to train and be part of a rescue team. I had been there for five of the six months when the call came out."_

The doctor stood up and looked down at her laying there.

 _"Do you remember the date?"_ He sat on the edge of the bed and watched my breathing change.

_"It was October 4th, we had been watching a sports game on the tv in the day room when the alarm rang in. 37895 Industrial Way, Reports of Several Person's trapped on the sixth floor, heavy fire involvement on the floors below, calling for a second and third alarm. We jumped up, slid down the poles to the engine bay, got our gear on like every other time and got on the ladder truck for the call. As we went on to the scene we knew our jobs very well as we had trained almost every day for this very situation. A well oiled machine is what we were, and we did what we were expected to do. We were the second unit on scene, Engine 287 had pulled in and they had a hose team attempting to make entry in the first floor, but the fire was pushing them back hard with its black smoke banked down to the floor. I could see the people in the windows of the sixth floor screaming and waving at us as the engineer brought the ladder around but there was a problem, we could only reach the fourth floor. I had my climbing rig on as did my partner, we figured due to the nature of the call that we would have to lower people off the roof if we didn't get help right away. You see there was another five alarm fire on the other side of town and it had stretched the resources very thin that day."_

She paused for a moment and the doctor watched the expression on her face twist and change. She took in a deep breath almost labored and continued.

_"We went up the ladder, in our full personal protective equipment, full turnouts, breathing apparatus, tools, climbing rigs, and bags with rope in the over our shoulders. We landed in a bedroom that was devoid of furniture, showing us that no one had occupied this apartment in a while. We broken down the door and made our way up the stairs to the upper floor. The smoke had filled the entire stairwell, making very hard to see and impossible to breath if you weren't properly equipped, we knew full well that people couldn't escape that way. We slammed through the door at the top of the stairs and were met by a group of women screaming at us. We lowered some of the them down and other ladder trucks were able to get the others but that's when everything went from bad to worse."_

She squeezed her hands and shifted uneasily in the day bed as the doctor patted her hands. _"Please tell me what happened next Terra."_ He cooed to her as she tried not to cry.

_"We heard the fire roaring up the open stairwell, and the amount of time we had been there was now passing twenty minutes. The fire attack team wasn't making very good progress and they gave us an all call to evacuate the building due to imminent collapse. That's when we heard a child crying out for help down the hall. The little girl was screaming as the fire raged up the stairs and she slammed the door shut there. I swear we checked that room but she was there! We ran over to the door and I did a baseball slid into the door as the fire flared again. My damn turnouts were starting to smolder from the heat and when we burst that door open the place was completely charged with hot smoke."_

She started pulling at her uniform and making involuntary movements as she told the tale of her disastrous day on the job as a cadet. He breathing and pulse had increased and the sweat was rolling down her forehead.

_"We secured the door and started a right hand search of the room. We made it into the bedroom when we felt the floor start to roll slightly, and the build started to collapse. I took my tool and buried it into the drywall under the window sill, broke out the window and made a rig to repel for our escape. My partner went over to the closet and when he ripped the doors open there was the little girl! She had been burned to a crisp, she was holding another child there on the floor of the closet and the fire had gotten them through the wall. They were mummified like that, an eternal stranglehold fused together and the fire started ripping at us. We were both burning now and we leapt out the window, linked together by our climbing rigs we swung out over the front of the house and slammed down into the pavement as we pendulumed and the rope snapped from the exposure to the fire. I broke my leg in the fall, and the hose teams turned their water on us, putting out our gear. I rolled over Hudson and his face mask had been melted badly but he was still alive, the skin on his neck melted and sluffing off."_

She grabbed the doctor's arm and started crying uncontrollably for a few short moments. The man in the black suit slowly emerged from the shadows of the room clamping and slightly laughing. The attention in the room now focused solely on him.

 _"Bravo! Bravo! Those dragon tears always work wonders don't they Terra? Oh the drama, the theatrics and the ever happy ending that never materialized in the real world."_ He was calm and mannered as he spoke with his double edged tongue, inflicting enough pain in just the right ways.

_"Stop lying about the incident in Chicago and tell the truth for once! Don't play games with me, we have a contract with your signature on it, and it would be best if I didn't have to remind of that little detail."_

He snapped as he slapped the desktop near the window, the smoke of his cigarette lifting slowly to the ceiling as they looked on at him. Her tears stopped immediately and the doctor became so shocked he appeared to be visibly sickened by her use of fake emotions. She darkened and turned to the man in the shadows.

 _"Fine. I'll tell him, I was just trying to save him the details of a horror so gruesome that most men would puke on just the very thought of it."_ She stood up, slid her shoes back on her feet and turned back to the doctor who now lay on the day bed.

She looked as if she had completely changed, morphed into an animal of the most dangerous type, and he now became submissive to her commanding presence.

_"The story was true up until the little girl, she was in that room alright. We ran to that room in an attempt to jump out of the structure ourselves, she never called for help, because she and her brother were already dead."_

The doctor watched her eyes turn almost black and man in the suit took a long drag off his cigarette, the sound of the burning paper filled the entire room. She looked deeply disturbed in a sinister way that only those who have seen death glimmer, as it takes a life to that next plane of existence.

_"The two children were hanging by their necks from the ceiling inside the bedroom of that apartment. They had been brutally beaten, tortured, stripped naked and murdered before they were hung like that. After we got inside we cut them down, even though it was tampering with evidence, we still did it. They were probably about six or seven years old respectively. We weren't alone in that room with them though, the man that had committed the crime waited there in a set of firefighter's turnouts. He had a trap laid out for us, a tub of yellow phosphorous in the ceiling nearest the far window. We had cut the kids down, the fire team made their way up the stairs and that bastard unloaded that shit on us. It burned us both badly, but Hudson more so than I. Hudson later died, after we both plunged to the ground after the explosion tossed it outside through the very window we were to escape out of. I'm done talking about it now, it's time to get down to business, sir."_

She circled the doctor as she spoke and at the end she looked directly at the mystery man. Angst washed over her form in the low light as the hatred was completely visible in her every motion towards him.

The man smiled at her and nodded. He stood up straight as the doctor got to his feet in a slightly panicked jolt into the stagnant air.

_"I'm proud you finally told the truth to someone Terra. Very well, let's get you out fitted for the mission at hand. Farewell doctor."_

He advanced to her and showed a gesture that took the doctor aback. He put his arm out to her and she took it as they left the room, he stood there in their absence, a single spectator to witness crimes not yet committed on so many levels.

They walked in a silent cadence to the elevator, their faces still as bronze cast figures from long ago and their thoughts locked away from each others prying claws.

They slowly made their way down the corridor as the Colonel opened the door for them to the lab. The doctor had called him in a bit of a stir, after they left him in his office, and he knew what to expect upon their arrival so he thought.

What he saw walking towards him in the corridor was an older man, leading a dangerous woman to her end without the knowledge of such, just a hunch, the man's green eyes soft yet vibrant, her eyes as blue as the radiant sky far above the complex and seemingly all knowing as their gaze washed over him in passing through the threshold. He shivered as they moved silently through and into the lab without as much as a sound of breath, it was as if they had floated, no levitated through him.

He followed them inside as the approached the doctor who was setting the personal protective equipment out on the table for its wearer to inspect. They stopped short of the table, the man released her arm from his and she advanced to Doctor Langdon.

_"Janet, it's time for that briefing you owe me. I'm ready to comply with the parameters of the mission, my status has been updated and I have been cleared for duty as your primary test subject."_

Her words seemed foreign and placed inquisitively into a puzzle that wrapped around a cylindrical mathematical equation on some chalk board somewhere.

Janet slowly turned and looked over her with a suspicious eye before putting her right hand on her friend's left shoulder. The unspoken rules between them showed their meaning as they looked into each others eyes and Janet saw the look of surrender in her friend. As strong and radiant as she was, she knew when to concede to defeat, and this was to be expected under the gaze of that man's green eyes. She knew of the contract, it's details and the consequences if she didn't conform to it completely and in this instance, Janet withdraw her past judgments over Terra. An unconditional curl started to rise from the corner of her mouth as her eyes lit up.

They looked at each a moment longer before Janet removed her hand and they walked up to the table looking at the equipment there. There were many familiar things there, a set of ACU Army fatigues, a molly vest with level four ballistic plates laid on it, a vice type side arm leather holster, a 1911 ACP Colt .45 pistol, six clips fully loaded with ammunition, a single M4 assault rifle with twelve clips fully loaded, a pair of combat boots, gloves, a three day rucksack in ACU filled with three days worth of procurement's, a transponder, a hand held 800 MHz radio, helmet with night vision setup attached to it, and at the end of the table laid a very odd looking jumpsuit.

Terra crooked her head to the side, set her dress cap on the table and ran her hand over the fabric of the black and silver jumpsuit. A curled smiled began to appear as she recognized what it was she hand in her hand.

 _"It feels just like spandex, where did you ever get a Nano suit Janet?"_ She lifted her fingertips off of it and looked directly into the doctor's face.

 _"JPL, they said it would withstand the unknown forces the wearer would be facing inside the system."_ She put her hands behind her back in wait for Terra's questions.

 _"The system? What did you have in mind exactly?"_ Her face twisted with a bit of skepticism at the thought. _"Oh, I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you. Boy are we getting ahead of ourselves here. Come with me if you would please."_

She motioned to the door ahead that had a distinct humming sound behind it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos if you want thanks!


	4. Schrödinger's Cat and the Anti-Zeno Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A first look at the experiment to take place, the machine for transport and the details hidden within an evil contract. Will Terra transverse this new frontier or will the experiment be over before it begins as sinister hands work their way into the quantum computer.

They walked over and she slowly opened it for her, the device that laid inside that room made Terra gasp with awe and terror. The huge platform was slightly elevated above the floor, a spinning spherical ring stationary in its locks and the electrical lines running to it from every direction was a mass of electrical engineering in it of itself. It was over fifteen feet high and twenty feet wide in all and the standing platform in the center was five by five.

 _"No way."_ Terra whispered as Janet pulled her inside and closed the door behind them.

 _"You built a Zeno machine but why? We don't have a working Quantum computer to run it do we?"_ She looked over at Janet with a scowl of dismay as to what she might say.

 _"Yes we do, it's been embedded into the supercomputer inside the pentagon's mainframe computer downstairs. It's been functioning for the past five months now and your theory paper from the university was my fuel for the fire that got it built in the first place."_ Terra stopped and froze at her words.

 _"You've got to be shitting me! That was a long time ago, I never meant it to be a reality, it was more or less a dream I had once. Let me guess that this platform is the destabilization radium from my paper for use of transport into the quantum machine then?"_ She said pointing at the platform in a bit of a panic.

 _"You've hit the nail on the head there dear. You will be de-materialized there and re-materialized inside the program we coded specially for this project inside the quantum computer down below the platform, so the travel distance in less than a tenth of a parsec."_ She said without a hitch smiling like a used car salesman making a pitch for a car.

 _"I'm not Schrodinger's cat, you are not putting me in that box to kill me that way! I know just pull out your gun and shoot me right now, just get it over with! This isn't some movie or a game here Janet! You can't just stuff me up there, pull the trigger on that thing and poof I'm inside of another world inside of a machine! This is fucking insane."_ She put her hand over her face and shook her head. She took a deep breath as her friend looked on never losing her smile.

 _"You will be entering a controlled environment. It will be perfectly safe and the only thing you have to do is put on all that stuff from the table, go up there and zap! You walk around in the environment, we take the readings and bring you back for further testing. It's that simple you have my guarantee, besides you need a little change of pace and this might just be the kick in the pants you've been looking for."_ She said as she led Terra out of the room back to the table in the other room.

_"Okay I'll do it. Keep in mind Janet, that there are lives on the line not just mine but yours too. This is not a movie, a game or a toy this entire thing could kill everyone on the planet if we fuck this up, you do realize that don't you?"_

_"Yes I do and don't think that you will explode causing a paradox that destroys the entire globe Terra."_

_"Just remind me of why we do things the way we do and the consequences of the quantum world. I want to hear it again is all, just for good measure."_

As they entered the room the Colonel and the mystery man had left, they stood alone as the other scientists returned to the room they had just exited and the door slid closed. Terra's eyes were drawn to the Nano suit as she place her hand back on the fabric in a bit of wonderment.

 _"Well first off, take off everything, put the Nano on first and everything else on top of that. It'll be as tight as your skin so keep that in mind when pulling it on."_ Janet said turning her back as Terra started removing her dress uniform.

She then began to finish her request of the last conversation as to calm Terra's nerves.

_"First off try not to touch anything inside the environment that looks human or animal. If you collide in the quantum world out of phase with that environment you will become in phase or it will become in phase with you and we are not sure what will happen in that instance. When you arrive the world should be stopped until we change the harmonic frequency of your presence through your nano suit, bringing you into phase and then he world will appear as normal and real as this world. Then and only then can you touch things inside that environment without consequence. The transponder is your way in and out of the environment, protect it with your life, if it were to be damaged or inoperable you will be trapped inside the system until we can create a counter measure to retrieve your signal. That could take a tremendous amount of time and would not be very plausible. One last thing Terra, if you get killed inside the system, you die as if you were standing right here."_

Terra stopped putting the clips into the vest at that last sentence, that chain as words.

_'If you get killed inside the system, you die as if you were standing right here.'_

Her eyes got wide and her body shook as if she had been slugged in the face.

They turned to each other, Terra now fully clothed, except for her helmet, her dress uniform laid over the table and a look of shock over her face.

 _"You failed to disclose that little detail to the end on purpose didn't you?"_ She said to the doctor in a low grumble almost inaudible to the human ear.

 _"I didn't want to rattle you Terra. You have brushed past death so many times that I thought maybe you could give it a proper handshake this time around."_ She said it with a smile, no funny gesture there a true sincere feeling of regret. They both knew the risks of entering the machine and it wasn't any different than getting into the cockpit of a plane. There was always that possibility of never coming back or coming back different. It was always there in the back of the mind and it waited for an opportunity to make its mark when the time came.

Terra lifted the pistol up, checked the chamber pulling back the slid and holstering it. She slung the rucksack onto her back and lifted the M4 from the table following the same procedure for the chamber check, attaching the rifle tether to her vest and lifting it hang off the front of her as she adjusted her watch.

Janet watched her and sucked on her lower lip as she finished. Her thoughts traveling off into the past for a moment before Terra slapped her arm in reply to go to the platform. _"Oh yes! Let's go shall we?"_ She said spinning on her heels and they walked through the door to the Zeno machine.

A scientist stopped Terra as Janet continued to the control center in the room nearest the far corner. The man had a chart in his hand and looked Terra over penciling in something here and there.

 _"Ma'am I need to ask you some redundant questions before your journey please answer them honestly."_ His brown eyes scanning the questions on the page. Terra nodded to him and he began.

 _"Age?--34.--Gender?--Female.--Name, rank and serial number? Captain, Terra Jane Hulsey, Serial Number 697-845-6201.--Clearance?--Classified Sector Seventeen.--"_ The man checked off the rest of his list and folded the papers back down on the clipboard before motioning her to step past him to the platform.

The Colonel and the mystery man watched her as this went on, from a command and control cluster above the platform. The man took a drag off his smoke smiling down at her from his unseen position there next to the Colonel. The Colonel slowly looked over at him in wonder, he could see the green hue of his left eye glimmer as he watched her walk up onto the platform and the countdown sequence started on the control system clock on the wall.

A man in the command cluster behind a desk with many computer monitors spoke into a microphone.

 _"T-minus twelve minutes and counting. Beginning spin up sequence and liquid cooling chamber stabilization. Stabilization checks complete and holding at maximum capacity."_ The massive ring that was hold in a cradle above her was released and it hissed with excitement as it slowly rotated around her. The cold air from the liquid nitrogen lines gently blew past her has the ring slowly lifted and fell in a slow melody. The platform shook gently each time it fell and again as it came back above her head. She stood absolutely still to its beckoning as the scientists looked on at their creation.

_"T-minus eleven minutes and counting. Pulse beacon transponder system locked on and in phase modulation at ninety degrees out of phase. System green, modulation field ready for phase locked loop control counter measures."_

The men's voices and the hissing sounds of progress slowly faded away as the sound of little metal casters rolled along a dimly light corridor just beneath the platform on the mainframe level. A single maintenance man walked behind the yellow mop bucket, holding the handle of the mop in his gloved hands, and his face shrouded by the shadow of a black hoodie sweatshirt as he walked deeper into the complex over to the quantum computer interface. He pulled at flash drive out of his pocket, along with a large set of keys, opened the main panel to the quantum computer system and plugged the usb into the front hub.

He looked around slowly as the interface screen slid out of its hiding place and folded up for him to access the operating system. The touch screen blinked awake as he entered his username and password quickly. He then transferred the contents of the drive into main system of the Zeno control unit. He then changed the parameters of the system to delete and override the original program, loading the one he had inserted. In a matter of minutes he had finished, removed the drive, locked the panel and rolled those little caster wheels of his down the hall into the darkness. Vanishing from both sight and mind as the Zeno machine above hissed and swung its mighty ring wildly causing slight earthquakes to register on the Richter scale.

 _"T-minus one minute and counting! All systems are green, transponder signal locked on and ready for transport!"_ The man shouted as the machine rattled everything that wasn't bolted down, knocking a coffee cup to the floor and shattering it in the command cluster.

Everyone that was non-essential on the floor of the platform area left for the safety of the blast doors as they closed in the experiment and its patron. The static electricity in the air surrounding the ring snapped and flashed as the wind blew over Terra standing at the ready in her little five by five square. The ring was moving so fast now it was hardly visible but she could feel the incredible pull from its magnetic field.

_"T-minus five!--Four!--Three!--Two!--One! Sequence locked, system initiated----!"_

There was a flash of blinding green- blue light that wrapped her in swirling motion as she looked straight up into the machine she saw the milky way galaxy, the sun, all the planets and stars spinning around in the sky. Like a snap of lightning a yellow-orange bolt, five feet in diameter reached down from above and passed right through her, the carrier signal as it was called, and it took her down through the floor with in directly into the quantum computer traveling at the speed of light.

It caused a loud explosion as it snapped the sound barrier but left no damage to any of the equipment in the room. As quickly as it flashed she and the grand light show was gone, the machine slowly losing its velocity and the ring's spin slowly reciprocating back and forth to the laws of gravity. A section of the quantum computer's panels turned all the lights green as they flashed wildly with a massive data stream entering them suddenly. The mission control officer jumped up and yelped as a green marker started flashing with an audible tone on his monitor.

 _"Sir! She made it she's inside the system! It was a success!"_ The rest of the team stood and started cheering as the Colonel patted the man in the suit on the back he whispered something to him that he wouldn't soon forget.

 _"It's not a true success until she's back here."_ His tone low, calm and unwavering.

He stood still with no visible expression as he watched the Zeno machine cool down, the blast doors open and the scientists reenter the room in awe and amazement.

Janet suddenly stopped, grabbed her chest and looked right up at him in a panic, it was all over her face. The man in the suit recognized her look, tossed the smoke on the floor and ran over to one of the command consoles. Something was amiss!

A red light started flashing there and the team stopped their celebration immediately grabbing headsets and making calculations. A computer voice and subsequent alarm sounded in the facility as this light was discovered.

 _"Warning facility lock down in place, all doors to the surface have been sealed due to a security breach on: Level Thirty Nine, Mainframe. Mainframe security breach, warning system breach detected."_ The man pounded his fist down on the desk.

 _"Get all the security cameras up on the thirty ninth level now!"_ The monitor flashed with many little squares showing different views of the mainframe level.

One of the them showed the man rounding a corner, and the Colonel got on his radio to security forces.

 _"Be advised an unauthorized subject has been detected on level thirty nine, intercept and take into custody with force as necessary! Subject is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous we want him alive!"_ He yelled into the handset as the mission team frantically tried to figure out it was he did exactly.

A heavily armed team of military security forces moved down the hallways and corridors as the flashing lights filled every void and the alarms filled their ears. The moved systematically throughout the mainframe level with a tech team behind them ready to hookup to the system and take measurements for differences. The fire teams moved forward as the tech team slammed down their equipment at the main panel, ripped the panel open and hooked up their computers.

Suddenly gunfire filled the west wing hallway, the fire team blasted away as the man attempted to throw a grenade at them and it fell lazily to the floor, the pin in his fingers as the bullets shredded his flesh.

_"Subject opened fire on Bravo Team! Explosives on the ground! Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!"_

The communications were sporadic and chaos was evident on the receiving end. The grenade rolled a foot or two away from the bloody lump that was once a man and exploded as the fire team dove back into the mainframe room, safe from the blast. It shook the facility, the sound unmistakable as it rattled the entire command cluster and the fire suppression system activated, extinguishing the charred remains of the ma and the corridor.

 _"Bravo Team report!"_ The Colonel screamed into the handheld over all the alarms in the command cluster.

The radio crackled, white noise was all that made its way through for a few seconds, and as he went to key the set again a man's voice came over the waves.

_"Subject is down. Repeat subject is down. The facility is still fully operational, he detonated a grenade in one of the blast protected hallways on the west end of the wing. I'm sorry we couldn't get him alive sir."_

The Colonel looked as if he were going to cry out in pain, the man, that terrorist, he wouldn't get the satisfaction of interrogating him.

_"Good job Bravo team. Tech team report!"_

He let the handheld go for a moment and looked over at the control man at the computer monitors. He held up a thumbs up and turned it to the side. The man responded with a thumbs up, indicating her signal was still intact and they were still locked on.

_"Tech team here. Colonel you need to get Doctor Langdon down here right away we may have a problem."_

_"Copy that, we're on our way, Colonel Johnston out!"_ He shoved the radio in his pants pocket and made his way down to the floor level with the mystery man in tow.

They made it over to Doctor Langdon, she looked shocked and terrified that they had been attacked. The Colonel took her by the arm and the three of them ran to the elevator.

Upon arrival to the mainframe level one of the tech team members waited at the door for them and ran them over to the commander of the team. He was a man in his forties, about six foot tall with black hair and hazel eyes, a navy commander and he was wildly tapping away at the touch screen on the interface control unit.

 _"Update Commander!"_ The Colonel said his eyes blazing as both the mystery man and Janet looked on.

The Commander wiped his forehead and stepped back from the screen in a bit of confusion.

 _"Sir! The original program that was in this system was deleted and a new one put in its place. We have been logging the entire code stream and it's a huge set of files. We can't make sense of why someone would come down here and do this."_ He started looking around in confusion as if he were dizzy.

The Colonel grabbed the man's arms and looked into his face.

 _"Did what exactly Commander?!"_ The Commander looked sick, his eyes sunken and his lips chapped.

"Sir someone loaded a video game into the quantum computer and locked out everyone with administrative secure encryption. It's set to the hardest setting and all the security principles are set to maximum."

The Colonel looked completely dumbfounded at him he shook him violently and snarled.

_"What are you saying man!? What video game?!"_

The Commander started to cry slightly and looked at all of them.

 _"It's Fallout 4 sir. A post apocalyptic nuclear warfare game that takes place far in the future. I hope she was equipped with the best the military had to offer, because if not she'll be dead within the hour. If you can't get her out of that thing sir."_ He turned away from them and collapsed on the floor.

They stood looking at each other in horror at the news that they had received. Their face twisting and fading into a systematic cascade of calculations for getting her out alive.

 _"What the hell is going on here, why would anyone want to do that to her? What the is Fallout 4 and why is it so dangerous?"_ Doctor Langdon asked aloud as a rhetorical question. _"We must gather all the data on this program immediately!"_ Everyone in the room stood and starred at her in disbelief.

 _"Don't just fucking stand there get to work!"_ She snapped sharply at them.

They all ran back for the elevator as the tech team and the fire teams secured the mainframe level. Janet knew right then there had to be some sort of mistake, a real video game into the quantum machine, that had dire consequences and especially if it was as dangerous as the Commander said it was.

They made it back to the lab when a man in the command cluster got on the loud speaker and called down to them.

 _"Doctor, gentlemen, we need you up here right away!"_ The speaker crackled off as they ran up the stairs to a man who stood before a monitor with a ton of data streaming across it.

They looked at him and he locked eyes with the doctor and looked at the monitor. She walked over and looked at the monitor herself. The Nano suit was showing real time data and she bit her knuckle as the data ran across her retinas.

Elevated heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, everything to indicate she was running as fast as possible from something, possibly thrust into a combat situation.

_"Ma'am...she was in phase with the system when she arrived. We aren't sure how that happened but--"_

Janet cut him off in mid sentence and tears started to well up in her eyes watching the monitor of her vital signs.

 _"The environment was in motion when she arrived."_ Her voice was shaken and raspy.

The mission team was silent, the complex fell into a depression watching the doctor's eyes as she was lost to the monitors unseen words.

_Stress, panic , run--run faster, escape!_

_"Get me everything on Fallout 4. I want it right now, we need to make an emergency evacuation plan for her extraction from the system."_

The Colonel turned to her for a moment with a perplexed look on his face.

_"Doctor? Can you tell me in layman's terms how the system works?"_

She nodded at him with her eyes still fixed to the screen.

_"Sure. Everything takes place on the molecular level, she is in the Nano suit to keep her DNA and rNA intact during the transfer. What happens is the suit creates a synthetic harmonic of her natural body harmonic frequency, the seventeenth harmonic to be exact, it then places that signal in the system as shadow copy of the original. When the system activates and she is placed into the carrier wave her physical body is de-materialized on the cellular level into a resonant frequency on that wave and once on the other side the seventeenth harmonic is inserted by the system to re-materialize her as a physical form inside the quantum computer. If she is in the physical form there, as she is here, it would be no different than you and I standing here, as it is for her in that environment. What we don't understand is if she comes in contact with anyone who is human or perceived to be human in that environment, she may become exposed or even contaminated by contact. The consequences can vary but are completely unknown to us at this point in the experiment."_

She turned dark and low, she was hating herself for putting Terra in there and angry with the pentagon for not protecting the system better. It did little good to get upset at a moot point, what mattered now was the mission and getting her out alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for looking!


	5. Insertion Point Alpha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Hulsey has made the first jump into the Quantum world, but things are out of whack as she is subjected to the harsh physical reality of a video game that runs on the premise of war and violence. Has she set a perpetual motion into place that will have a cascade effect across multiple realities or is she just a figment of data within a program?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in this chapter is:
> 
> M83-Wait (Kygo Remix)  
> Here is the link for you to queue up and listen to for the full effect.  
> Thanks!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yifz3X_i-F8

The entry into the quantum computer was rough and even that was an understatement. The pressures exerted on her body as the carrier wave ripped into her body on the platform made her feel as if she were being pulled inside out by a huge magnet. It was nothing like g-force that is exerted during flight, not even a little bit. The view of the galaxy above when the system initiated, well that's going to need some explaining but it was beautiful. The feelings of complete disorientation, loss of gravitational forces, equilibrium and the re-materialization process alone were horrific as she slammed into the ground in the environment.

The environment was in motion, much to her surprise, and her vision was blurred beyond recognition of anything. She blinked rapidly, staggered to a standing position and everything was clipping, into multiples of themselves. She waved her hand in front of her face and it made a fan of its own image passing back and forth like a screen with bad resolution refresh rates. It was disturbing to her physically, so much that she started to puke uncontrollably over the side of a brick wall into a parking lot. The ringing in her ears was slowly subsiding and she heard the distinct sounds of a firefight very close by followed by strange sounds like those of dying animals.

_Those were no dying animals, they were feral ghouls...._

She looked down at herself, checked her weapon quickly and turned around to face the music of automatic gun fire and something that sounded very much out of this world. A sizzling sound like a high powered laser system, like that one they used to shoot down missiles on naval ships. She was facing the wall barriers of the Cambridge Police Station and those things, that looked like zombies, were rushing in towards the building from all angles of her vision. She crouched, snapped the safety off her M4A1 and started blasting away at them. Suddenly their attention turned on her, they were rushing her and she saw an escape route, up a set of stairs that appeared to led from the road into the courtyard of the police station. She knocked down a couple of them, the smell of dead bodies and decomposition were overwhelming as their limbs blew off and splattered her fatigues with old dead blood. She charged up the steps, launched herself of a barrier with a strange symbol on it and rolled into the courtyard. The Brotherhood Paladin, his men and a woman in a blue jumpsuit were quickly distracted by her presence as she stood back up.

Her M4 blazing away at the ghouls, she looked like a machine, swiveling at the hips and sidestepping as she advanced dropping clips on the ground and reloading almost simultaneously. She didn't even look at the others as she put herself between them and the danger, the ghouls falling around her as she moved slowly and methodically back and forth as they threw themselves at her. There was a large truck and trailer just outside of the complex that was on fire now, the woman in the blue jumpsuit ran over to her and as the explosion started, she shoved the woman to the side, in an attempt to throw her to the safety of the ground, as she was tossed away like a rag doll by the blast. She bounced across the ground like a toy spring, slamming against a pile of sand bags in front of the police station and shrapnel ripping into her flesh, just past the edge of the front plate in her vest.

The blast was indicative of a miniature nuclear blast as the cloud lifted up she smelt the burning flesh and hair of a human being. She looked around, the ringing that had just stopped returned ten -fold and the woman was on the ground some fifteen feet away, half of her body burned badly and motionless. She started screaming something as she attempted to get up and move over to assist the woman who was obviously dead, when large metal clad hands grabbed her. She couldn't hear anything, her movements were now severely limited as she watched the ground move beneath her as she was carried away, facing down and barely able to hold onto her M4, the injury now causing an increasing amount of pressure in her chest as the blood filled her chest cavity.

She was now inside the police station, two other people's feet scuffled past her view as she felt her body lift up higher and slowly roll over onto her back in the arms of the man who pulled her out of the combat engagement. She was having difficulty breathing as her view changed and just as she started to see this man her world went black, her body lifeless and limp.

Paladin Danse held in his arms the key to the quantum mystery that gripped the scientists in the pentagon in the real world. In his eyes she looked like an army soldier, dressed in her combat gear ready to wage a war that hadn't stopped in over two hundred years, and he knew there was something special about her. She was different even from the woman they had just met and whom had died inadvertently, the sole survivor of Vault 111.

Apparently when Terra was launched into their world, even the characters there were subject to the laws of quantum physics and mechanics, they too would die and never return. This would prove to be a major problem for everyone involved, the very basis of the program was wrapped around this deceased woman, but no one knew it. Terra would now provide the best possible replacement for the main heroin and she had no clue what that even meant, because if she ceased to exist the entire world she now occupied would collapse in on itself. Possibly forming a black hole ripping the quantum space between the two realities and thus destroying the entire universe.

The Paladin rushed Terra into the back room laying her across one of the beds, tossed her rucksack off into the corner, his hands floating around the pieces of steel that had impaled her torso, he released the M4 from its tether, and Scribe Haylen was right over his shoulder to help him. He handed her the rifle, the leather holster from her shoulders with its contents and then the helmet. He thought she was a he up until that point in time, when he took that helmet off with the HUD visor that covered most of her face he was very surprised. He gasped and his eyes were wide in awe at her.

Haylen had never seen him like that before, a reaction of such magnitude to anything, let alone any one. He slowly stood backing away slowly as if in a panic, like he had seen a ghost when he turned to her suddenly.

_"Get all the medical supplies and prep for surgery on her, even its a dirty field surgery we can't afford to lose another person."_

The conviction in his voice was riveting and Haylen followed orders as she knew to do. Danse exited his power armor in the other room and returned to the woman who now lay bleeding all over his bed. He slowly lifted his hands to the vest and pulled the quick release cable on the left side, letting the vest slowly loosen he gently removed it from her body tossing it on the floor. He unzipped the jacket as Haylen rushed over with all the supplies they had left. She placed a surgical tray on the bed next to her wounds and Danse became extremely nervous. His hand floating above the foreign objects that extruded from her torso, he started taking in deep breaths fast through perched lips in anticipation of the coming pain. He grabbed the steel quickly jerking it out and dropping it in the tray as if he were pulling it from his own body.

Haylen set up an IV stand and blood packs next to the bed, starting an IV port set up for her. She started to come to when he pulled the last of the steel from her body and she spat blood on her lips. She groaned out as he pulled his hands back from her and Haylen slowly stood. She looked around, at them and herself, looking at the blood everywhere and the damage done not only to her body but also the Nano suit. The silvery black fabric ripped and torn under the ACU jacket.

 _"Fuck."_ That was all she could manage to say.

They stood and looked at her as she attempted to get up and Danse pushed her back down.

 _"Where do you think you're going?"_ He said in a commanding tone.

"I need to get this stuff off and get patched up, then I'm contacting my superiors and getting the hell out of here." She said in a huff as Danse took his hand away from her shoulder. He looked a little angry with the way she spoke to him and she hadn't taken into account that things had changed drastically with her presence.

 _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to talk to you like that. Let's start over again, what's your name and where am I?"_ Her tone soft as she laid and looked up into his brown eyes so innocent and sweet.

_"I'm Paladin Danse of the Brotherhood of Steel. You are in the Cambridge Police Station in the Boston Common Wealth. This is what's left of my team, Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys. We were sent here from the Capital Wasteland as part of a recon squad."_

His words were spoken as if by a real human being and not a computer program and they shocked her very deeply. The look erased every other expression she had at her disposal. This was not the program she was supposed to be in, what the hell happened?

They looked at her, Rhys was sit seated on the floor as he sucked at the air. The disbelief rushing through her body and what she remembered from the man in the black suit, something that he said about being a believer.

She licked her lips and turned back to the Paladin.

 _"Do you have a first name Paladin Danse?"_ The words flowing slowly as if they had been forced.

 _"No--it's just Danse. I have not told many people that I don't have a first name and I don't know why I can just stand here and talk to you? Who are you?"_ He looked confused as he snapped a pair of gloves on and set the tools in the tray.

 _"Well I'm just one of those people, a people person and they let me everything without even thinking about it. That's an old mind trick you know. I'm Terra Hulsey, Captain, United States Air Force. It's nice to know you and your team Danse. Thank you for saving me."_ He words slowly fading in and out as her blood kept leaving her body and her eyes were becoming heavy.

 _"Saving you?! No you are mistaken about that, you saved us. We'd all be dead if hadn't shown up when you did."_ He took a needle, started a suture into it, pulled out a stimpak and she grabbed his leg with her hand. He stopped what he was doing and looked into her bright blue eyes.

"Don't tear the silver and black suit underneath anymore, it's imperative that we get this stuff off as intact as possible, and I'm going to need some underclothes to wear temporarily. I hate to ask but it's part of my mission you understand, I can't share the details right away." Her voice in pain as she slowly pulled at the fatigues.

 _"I understand."_ He put down the medical equipment, reached into a dufflebag under the bed and pulled out a grey t-shirt and a pair of men's black boxer briefs. He laid them on the table in the room as she started removing her boots. He laid her back down and removed them for her. Haylen assisted in removing the jacket and her pants.

Then they were left with the Nano suit, it looked as if it were alive as it pulsed and changed colors. It looked like a living piece of carbon fiber, the black and silver switching on a sine wave frequency that matched her bodies waveform and it was holding her in that pattern. She unlatched the collar and unzipped it to the groin, showing the evidence that she wore nothing underneath. Danse's hands shook as he and Haylen assisted in removing it as carefully as possible from her skin. The dried blood made it stick to her skin and pulled free some of the clots making blood gush out.

Her skin was so clear, smooth and radiant. He couldn't help but look at her as he removed the suit. She had no modesty left, after working for the military for so long, at the moment she didn't seem to care that she was letting strangers take her clothes off. The situation was one of urgency and it lent itself to nothing less than professionalism as a courtesy of a military organization. His hand gently brushed over her breasts, warm and soft as they were and that touch alone would sink deep into his memory.

They got the suit off and laid it gently with the rest of her gear. Haylen assisted her into Danse's clothes and she laid back down on the bed. The gaping wounds were ready to sewn up and she laid there as Danse did the work. When he had finished Haylen started an IV into her left arm and Danse put the t-shirt back over the fresh stitches. She laid there for about twenty minutes before she sat on the edge of the bed looking at her rucksack in the corner. The pain was varying due to which movements she did and it was ever present but she needed to inspect her equipment. She needed the transponder from the bag and she hoped it was working. She was alone in the room, listening to the brotherhood people talk in the other room about her.

She slowly removed the IV bag from its stand, put in over her shoulder and crept over to her bag. Inspected it carefully, finding it wasn't unscathed either, she slowly opened the bag to keep the others from hearing, digging around her fingers found the transponder and she removed it. Holding the green metal box in her hand, it had a dent in the side and sounded like something was loose inside of it. She sighed deeply as she sat on her knees and dug out a micro tool kit from the bag to open the box with.

She sat with her back to the conversation and opened the transponder on the floor next to the bed. The parts were soon scattered across the floor and one of the transistors for the main power supply was shattered. Another part for audio decoding was also busted and she got upset. She was trapped here with no explanation as to why things were so different than she had been told and no way to call out and let them know she was ok. She started to slump when the light bulb came on in her head. She could use a long range transmitter from this world, highjack the signal, change it to what she needed and use Morse code. It would work and she snapped her fingers and stood up only to back into the front of Danse, as he had been standing over her, watching, for unknown amount of time.

She was so shocked that he was there she spun around to face him and almost fell on the floor. He backed up quickly, a step or two, and she sat back down on the bed. His smile sweet, warm and inviting. His eyes sang to her as he sat down next to her and looked at the parts scattered across the floor.

 _"What's that?"_ He asked pointing over to them.

 _"It was my ticket home, but I will have to find a very special piece of equipment to use it to get a signal out to my unit and inform them of my situation. That transponder is not able to accommodate that now so I hope that you can help me."_ She twirled her thumbs in her lap looking down at her feet.

 _"You help us and we'll help you, I need you to help me get a deep range transmitter here from a facility in the common wealth to call our superiors. Maybe when they arrive on the Prydwen we can help you."_ She turned her face to his, she was perplexed by what he had said and it was exactly what she had been looking for.

Prydwen, that name, it came to her quickly and she knew what it was. It was from story about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table, that was the name of King Arthur's ship. So she assumed that this Prydwen was a naval vessel and she left it at that in her mind.

 _"Paladin, that woman who died who was she?"_ His face scrunched and relaxed.

_"It appears she had been a vault dweller. She came here to help and she died trying. I will give all her personal effects she had to you. I think that she would have wanted that."_

_"I want to bury her. She deserves that much for her actions."_

_"Agreed."_

_"Okay but can it be done tomorrow by chance, both items of importance. I need to get word out immediately, and then we can take care of my injuries."_ He smiled at her and stood up. She laid down on the bed as he hung the IV bag and brushed her hair back from her face. She had never met anyone like him before and she felt comfortable with him for reasons unknown.

 _"Whatever you say Captain. We'll all win here, everything will work out and things will get better. Try and rest."_ He left her laying there watching him as he turned to walk out of the room he looked back at her again and smiled.

He was not what she had expected, no in the least. He was real to her, this place was the same way, it was all so very tangible. He was nothing like John, this Paladin, he was a kind hearted free spirit and she wished she didn't have to think of him as a program. It made her stomach turn slightly as she turned on her side and reflected on things that had to be done. The next day's work to be executed, performed as a soldier and expected results delivered to a shadowed hand.

John, what an asshole, her thoughts turning hot and angry, the deposition of a man whole used everyone and everything in his path only to better himself. She wasn't sure why she thought of him in this moment of pain and insomnia but she loathed his every memory and wished for it to be cast off in the darkness, erased. They didn't love each other, that never came up as a possibility, what they were involved with was the lust of the flesh and nothing more. It proved to be his undoing as after he was done with her relationship he moved on to slam his flesh into another and another after that.

The relationship hadn't lasted long and it was for the better in so many respects. All they did was violence against each others flesh against desires not yet understood. He went on to contract a very nasty disease known only as HIV, after his encounters with many homosexual men in a high ranking military club for 'pretty boys.'

If that plane crash hadn't killed him that certainly would have, but she was tested anyways by the organization just to make sure that she was 'clean' and she was. She would never be anyone's fool ever again, she knew all too well of what happens to people that lend themselves to those types of actions and she wanted no part of it.

It made her sweat, the heat in the building was musty and wet. She sat up and swung her feet to the floor. Her bare feet landed just inches from the back of the Paladin, as he laid there at the bed on a sleeping bag, to keep an eye on her. He had fallen asleep there, waiting and watching. She gently removed the port from her arm and locked off the now empty IV bag. She gently stood as to not make the bed creak on her departure and stepped over him to reach the medical box that lay on the desk on the opposite wall. As she slowly unlatched the box he shifted slightly and whispered something inaudible in his sleep.

Watching him and listening before continuing her movements his breathing calmed as he hugged himself and returned to silence. She reached into the box and grabbed the gauze she needed, some purified water and slithered out of the room to go outside and look up at the night sky in peace. She loved the stars and the moon, so much to learn out there, almost as much to learn there as there is to learn within one's self.

She grabbed some food from the kitchen and accidentally let the door clank shut. It was louder than she had hoped and Danse snapped awake, motionless but for his eyes, he saw that she was gone. She slid out into the night through the front door as he sat up and put his boots on. He needed her to rest why was she awake so late into the night? He rubbed his face and silently went on his search for her.

As she sat out on the front steps of the police station and absorbed the surroundings she noticed how silent everything was in a haunting stillness. A bag of the vault dwellers belongs lay next to her and she saw a pip-boy sticking out of the top of the bag.

She slid it out into her hand and inspected it holding her food in her teeth.

_"Huh?"_

She put it on and booted it up. It looked like an old MS-DOS programmable computer and she smiled at the thought. After it was done she searched through it and discovered a very strange radio signal. It had a radio tuner on it awesome! She clicked on the channel and it was a song she had listened to not long before arriving at the pentagon. She wasn't sure if it was something her mind had fabricated but she sat alone listening to its melody. She left her position on the steps and decided to lay down on the overlook guard catwalk just above the courtyard.

She started the song over again as Danse slowly crept out of the front of the police station and she looked up into the sky eating her snack. One leg drawn up and her right hand behind her head as she listened to the song.

The sweet soft ebb of the sounds played there swept him towards her very slowly, they crept through the air like a fog that only the ears could see and he couldn't stop himself from advancing towards the sound.

_Set your dreams where nobody hides_

_Give your tears to the tide_

_No time_

_No time_

She wiped her face as a tear started to form and she didn't want it to become a reality. A feeling of hopelessness and being trapped inside of a machine.

_No time_

He slowly climbed the walkway to her and she acted as if she didn't even see him there.

_There's no end, there is no goodbye_

He didn't want to alarm her as he laid down with his head slowly approaching hers and he looked up at the sky in silence. He placed his hands over his chest, one over the other and took in the sight above. He had never really had time to look up the stars even though it was taken for granted that they were always there night after night.

_Dis-ap-pear with night_

She stopped eating when his scent hit her nostrils and she smiled instead. So many unwritten rules, unspoken words and underlying thoughts reached their threshold in that moment. They were the type of people that didn't need words to communicate with each other, they just knew. Looking up at the vast universe as it smiled down on them, a new journey was about to begin.

_No time_

_No time_

_No time_

_No time_

_No time_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you enjoyed the latest chapter and leave kudos if liked it! Thanks!


	6. Land of Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honor, the very thought of the word instilled a presence of its own. When such a word is bestowed onto someone they bring with them that premise. Experiences shape how people will be later in life, whether they can make a difference or not. Two people so different are starting to now feel like one in the same, oh the secrets that we keep. As Captain Hulsey travels through the vast environment she starts to believe that it is as real as it feels, she had better take her theory seriously from now on as it's starting to become evident that it's true.

The morning light slowly warmed the police station but the Paladin and the Captain had left on their way to bury the late Nora Nolan. The bright hues of color filled the sky above and pink rays of light shot out across the horizon to ring in the new day. They had started their journey to the graveyard just before the dawn kissed the sky with its brilliance, and the part of pall bears and undertakers was now their own. He carried the dead woman as the Captain took point with a laser rifle he had given her. They had everything they needed for this and the mission to retrieve the transmitter. Their feet crunching the dry dead top soil as they strode across the commonwealth to give the devil his due.

This was the first time that she had the chance to actually see the environment and it was pure speculation changed and malformed by the culminations of thousands of what if's. It was by design, simply genius in its realism. The ability to capture all the fears of the thermonuclear annihilation of everything on the surface of the earth and the variables of endless possibilities of its aftermath. She had to had to them for every detail of everything here made her believe it was real. It had the same feel as if the cold war actually happened and plummeted everyone into a post apocalyptic world, fantasy and legend mixing together as one.

The rusty vehicles, skeletal remains of this ancient wars victims and the blast evidence washed over all the structures inside and out. Mutated animals, people with tribal mentalities chasing down people for food and then there was the Brotherhood of Steel. They alone stood out against these other groups as a pillar of hope.

They had arrived at the cemetery about midday and it took a long time to dig down six feet in that soil. It had been painstakingly slow as Terra was still in a measurable amount of pain from the injury. Paladin Danse didn't usually like it when people took drugs, he hated in fact, but as her feet drug on in the dirt not taking natural steps he decided to give her an injection of med-x. She rejected the offer twice before ending up on the ground on one knee unable to continue.

He gritted his teeth as he removed the needle from his bag, he saw how so she was and he didn't want her to become addicted, but there was no other option, so he held her as he injected her in the neck. She wailed out in pain as it shot through her veins like wildfire across a prairie. He underestimated how strong she was as she jerked and contorted from the injection. It made him feel shame and he felt like a bad person asking her to do this so soon after her incident, but she was stubborn and wanted to do it if not for Nora than for herself, she felt she owed it to this world she had so invaded.

_"Why six feet, why not just on the top?"_

He asked as they shoveled the dirt out of the six by three by four hole that was now a fresh reminder of her mortality.

_"Well it's something form days gone by here I guess. It's also a way for her body to decompose without contaminating water tables or having animals come along and dig her up. There's other reasons I suppose but I can't think of them right off the top of my head at the moment."_ She wiped the sweat from her brow as the sun began to beat down on them.

_"I'm honored that you accepted my invitation to help us out. I understand that you are pretty much in the same situation and you can stay with us until the Prydwen arrives."_

His shoveling was making him a bit tired as he stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

_"This Prydwen, is it a naval vessel or something? And why can I only stay with you until it shows up, what then?"_

She shoveled and took the words out as she exhaled. The dirt and small pebbles dancing on the piles as the dirt stacked up next to them.

_"Well lets discuss that after we get the transmitter back to the station. I have other things I would like to discuss with you and times a wastin'."_

He said as he hit a rock and started prying around it.

_"Copy that."_

She replied helping pry the rock up and they tossed it out of the hole together. It took another hour of fast paces digging to get it where they thought it would work before they slowly lowered Nora into the grave. Danse laid her down on the cold soil and Terra handed down a huge pile of flowers she had picked on the way to the cemetery. He laid them all around her body and Terra helped him up out of the hole.

She reached into her chest pocket and pulled out an old book. It had burn damage over it and a large cross over the front cover. He looked confused by her actions as she flipped through its burnt pages, some of them falling down into the grave and blanketing Nora's body.

_"What is that?!"_ He said almost scoffing at the book.

_"This--is a holy book. Back in the day people read this for hope, it was called religion, and some of the words in this were customary to be spoken at funerals. Words for the dead, although I'm not a religious person, I found a gold cross in her belongs and that signifies that she was to some degree. As a tradition it's a way of letting the dead person's soul leave this world and travel to the next. So I will read the words and place the book with her a token of leaving."_

Her eyes searching for the right verse to read out loud and he stood with his hands crossed over his waist looking down on Nora.

_"Okay here goes."_ Terra took in a deep breath and her finger slid across the page as her words flowed out into the open air.

_"1 Thessalonians 4:14-17: For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."_

She closed the book with her one hand and tossed it down onto the soil below, and the dust swirled in reply around its landing site.

That had been the same verse said at the funeral of both her mother and her father, but she didn't care to share that with anyone. Death takes, and it's the one thing none of us can run from or escape. We all die and someday it would find her too, just not today if she had anything to say about it. It was a sobering experience being there like that, Danse had never been to a funeral, he didn't know that even existed anymore. The land of confusion is where so now found herself, things were not like they were in reality and they were convoluted and constrained. She looked up at the sky, watching some distant birds flying over the ocean probably and thought about her life. She didn't want to end up alone at her own funeral, no one left to remember her life and carry on her memory.

She watched the heat waves ripple up from the ground as her memory started to carry her off. Danse slowly stole a glimpse of her as she traveled around in her mind. This made her remember her house on the desert floor, her little cabin away from the prying eyes of everyone, a safe haven. She felt the sun on her back and if she stood still enough she could feel the rotation of the earth, that alone gave her the basis that this place was indeed real and she had to be very careful. The haunting words swirled her brain, if you die in the system it's permanent.

She felt that all familiar lump grow in her throat as she felt the strings of emotional attachment string her to the ground on which she stood. The ropes launching out of the dirt up around her arms, shoulders her torso. The dirt flying off of them as they circled her, making her dirty and wrapping around her tightly. The last one wrapping around her neck as the lump tightened and she felt the mental stigma of her past faults pain her like a physical ailment.

She was snapped back to the grave by Danse's shifting and his slight cough. She wasn't really trapped it had been a figment of her past, a terrible nightmare that stemmed from a most horrid event in her life that shut her emotions like a clam. It was all John's fault she had been shattered like a mirror and he humiliated her, she had a slow burn of hate that started to blacken her soul and that was not a good thing. She was just starting to feel again when she was sent her and now she found herself drawn to this man, this program of a man, and he felt more real to her than anyone else in her life.

She pushed it back and held herself as she could not showing what she had hidden behind her eyes. She shouldn't be like this, she thought she was able to fight against her feelings but she now found herself becoming emotional towards these people, towards him. She forced it away from her face, her expression and reached for the shovel.

He turned to the shovel and they covered her body, that didn't take as long as they thought it would then it was time to go on, carry the memory of this day, lock it up and forge ahead to the mission site, ArcJet.

The fresh grave watched them leave, it mourned the dead that laid within and what they did there wouldn't be soon forgotten. The wind swirled over and carried with it one of the small flowers that had been laid there, it spun far up into the sky and vanished as they walked on into the empty, desolate wasteland.

As they got close to the mission site of ArcJet, she checked her mags, made sure the stitches were holding in her skin and checked her sidearm. She wasn't sure what they were going to be up against once inside the facility and she didn't want to take a chance. Danse put his helmet on and checked his laser rifle. She did trust the laser rifle, it had limited ammo and she felt more at home with her M4 in her hands. She stowed the laser rifle for now and slapped a clip into the M4, snapped back the slid and was ready. The nodded at each other and entered the building gun blazing.

That was the first time she had seen a synth, a robot humanoid that killed like a terminator would have. It even resembled the T-800 from the second movie sort of and she took a bit of pleasure blasting the crap out of them. They made their way down quickly, working as an impenetrable team blasting away at the enemy and searching the facility in an efficient way as they descended. But it went sideways as the synths were being teleported into the room below an engine. She watched them phase into the room with bright bursts of blue light, and she knew exactly how to screw with that technology and make it inoperable, it was little different from what they had done in the pentagon to bring her here, same basic principle just a different purpose.

They were being overrun by those synths when Danse gave her an order she had no choice but to follow.

_"Ignite the engine! It's the only way!"_ He yelled as he continued blasting the synths.

_"What about you! That sort of blast and heat will kill you! I'm not leaving you here to die god damn it!"_

She dropped another clip to the ground slamming in a new one when a synth slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. She reached down to her ankle revealing a k-bar combat knife and she sunk it into its head with fit of electrical scurry it ceased functioning and fell to her side.

Her stitches had pulled some and the adrenaline that flowed made her indifferent to the pain her body screamed at her. She ran into the control room and fired the engine as told. It was gut wrenching as she had to watch him get blasted by that thing. The heat from it alone filled the room and she hid her face in her sleeve as it burst out and was over. She knew from her time in the fire service that his survivability was very high, he would survive in that power armor he wore and she trusted his equipment. She was accepting things as they were in this world, this environment, and every day she spent there made it more believable and harder to call it what it once was.

After it has ended she slammed through the hot blast doors and rolled across the ground as the Paladin knelled in his armor.

_"Danse! Danse you okay in there?!"_ She shouted looking around for any more enemies but they had all be dispatched by the flames.

A panic had started to fill her stomach and the butterflies were violently ripping at her ribs.

_"Yeah, I'm okay. I fired my gear but I'm fine, You get the transmitter?"_

He asked as he slowly rose to standing position and the radiant heat from it made her fatigues steam. She backed away from him and held her hand up to him as he attempted to follow her.

_"I got it right here, let's get this show on the road and make some calls with our new radio phone shall we?"_

His eyes were drawn to the blood that was started to show through her uniform as she turned and went up the stairs. He knew she had been injured and he felt responsible for her newest pain. He felt pain in his chest at that and he hadn't felt like that since he held Haylen after that Knight had died at the police station. The pang of guilt for not being strong enough to protect and effectively lead everyone under his command. That throbbing pain in his head had returned and he followed her back up to the upper floors and outside. He wanted so bad to talk to her, she would understand what he was going through and maybe help him through it, but that would have to wait, for now.

They made it back to the police station and he gave the equipment to Haylen who promptly but it to good use. She looked at the Captain, snapped her arm up to her chest and said the Brotherhood slogan.

_"Thank you Captain, Ad Victoriam."_

Rhys shoved himself into the conversation, showing what a prick he was and snapped at her.

_"She doesn't even know what that means! You shouldn't waste that on her, she's not one of us!"_ Terra glared at him and slapped him across the face. _"I speak seven languages and one of them happens to be Latin. Pedicabo ego vos, Rhys!"_ She slapped him again back and forth before answering Haylen.

_"Ad Victoriam sister!"_

Danse watched as Captain Hulsey disciplined Rhys in front of him in her own fashion.

_"How dare you act like such a man-child in the presence of your commanding officer!"_ She pointed at Danse who stood in awe of the spectacle. _"Another thing, you don't know jack diddly shit about me so if I were you I'd watch my mouth before you get something you didn't bargain for. I am a part of the Brotherhood now and whether you like it or not you have to deal with me, I might be an initiate but I'm still a commanding officer for my unit and I will be shown respect by these around me. Understood Knight?!"_

She stood still against him as his eyes searched for a way to escape her scowl.

_"Understood Captain."_ He hissed and removed himself from the situation, defusing it and Haylen left to finish her work.

Danse watched the Captain as she went back into the rear of the building to fix her stitches. He was left standing there only to wait for a radio signal from the Prydwen and he waited for Terra to fix herself before having a discussion about things that he had wanted to discuss before.

His mind wandered in that tiny escape, a place of peace and solitude, he was having a day dream of being held himself. He saw himself crying in bed, broken down and she was there for him in his weakest moment. He felt himself swell under the protection of his armor, it would remain unseen but he felt everything that came with it, not just physically but mentally. He felt her warmth, the softness of her skin against his and the gentle touch of her hand as she wiped away his tears. It had only lasted a few moments but the effects were so present as if it had just happened when she rounded the corner with a small block of wood in her hand.

She looked at him as she passed and noted the wetness of his eyes. She stopped next to him, without looking and whispered a low secret to his ear. He stood rigid as she put her lips close to his ear, standing on her tip toes and spoke like a breeze against a pale fog.

_"Let me know when you're ready for that discussion. I'll be ready in about fifteen minutes after I get this finished and I'll meet you in the back office. Better check yourself before anyone else see's but your emotions are bleeding through. Take haste and I'll be there momentarily."_

He nodded in reply and she vanished out the front door of the police station to finish what she had been working on. He wiped his eyes on his armored forearm and saw that she had been right, it left a wet place there. He quickly made his way into the office and shut the door behind him. He exited his armor and sat in the chair behind the desk, waiting for her return. He reflected on how well they worked together as a team in that combat situation. She was right there matching his every step and move as if they were joined at the hip, covering every blind spot and nailing every hit with unmatched accuracy.

She had made a crude rendition of a telegraph machine on the wood and it would be attached to the transponder and thus the transponder to the communications relay circuit on-board the Prydwen. It would take a tremendous amount of electrical current to propel the signal, even in Morse, to the other side. She walked back inside, put the device into her bag and put the bag under the bed Danse had given to her. She then proceeded to meet him in the office and she was worried about him as he was starting to seem increasingly troubled over something.

She tapped the door twice. The butterflies started again as she heard him shift in the chair on the other side.

_"Come in."_

Danse replied with anxiety that it might not have been her. She unlatched the door and appeared before his eyes in the doorway. She slowly shut the door with a subtle click. He sat in the chair, he felt embarrassed by is physical state, still swollen by his thoughts he held for her and he didn't want to stand up and reveal himself. She pulled up a box and sat down on it on the opposite side of the desk from him. He was obviously nervous as he rubbed his hands together before starting.

_"The reason I called you here is to ask you about your unit. I know little about you and I would appreciate some truths if you don't mind, I don't mean to put you on the spot here but I feel that an explanation is due."_ His voice was soft and warm, he honest to goodness wanted to know about her and she felt it was appropriate to let loose some facts.

She sighed and hunted for the words in which to make things easy for him to understand.

_"Well, first off I came here on a scout mission for the United States Air Force. I have seemingly traveled into another dimension, which is here presently, and I need to contact my superiors for extraction back to where I came from. That's my mission in a nutshell, unless you want details then there will be a price to pay in the form of information exchange for said details."_ The advocate, tactical decision maker side of her came out to play as she needed information far more than anything else at the moment.

He was taken off guard suddenly by her, she had surprised him once again by this statement or business transaction rather.

She kept eye contact with him and he felt as if she was reaching around him in the very moment, her arms closing in around him. She watched him close his eyes and swallow hard.

_"Is everything okay? You've been acting sort of strange today."_ She asked tilting her head to the side.

_"Yeah I'm okay."_ He said rubbing his head and opening his eyes slowly.

_"I just wanted to let you know, as high ranking members of our respective organizations everything said in this room is off the record and considered of a sensitive and personal matter. Nothing said here leaves here for both the safety of the material and our lives. I will tell you everything if you do the same. I know that there are aspects of my presence you have to discuss with your superiors but the rest stays put."_ Her words eased his pain as he looked back at her and softened his expression.

_"With that said please tell me the reason you were sent here."_ He smiled putting his hands over his erection in an attempt to smooth it back down.

_"I was sent to test this Nano suit that I currently wear. It was designed to keep my body in its physical form on the molecular level during transport through time and space on a quantum carrier wave signal that transverses multiple dimensions and upon my return I will undergo testing to make sure I didn't lose something in translation between here and there. Basically."_ He sat there with his mouth partially open to what she just said in shock like she was an enemy.

He leaned forward in his chair and looked deep into her eyes.

_"Have you heard of The Institute?"_ He raised is eye brows in suspicion.

_"The Institute? No what is it?"_ His question had confused her and she now found a new interest in what he had said.

_"The Institute is a place where synths are made. They have advanced technology to do as they please here in the commonwealth and it's the duty of the Brotherhood to bring them to their knees. They steal people and replace them with copies of themselves, machines that think, look and act human."_ She sat there without an explanation as to what he just said. She couldn't believe it, not a word of it, and yet she did to the fullest. It made her very curious about this 'Institute'.

Her expression changed as she looked at the desk and back at him. She twisted her thoughts around the place they called The Institute, and she had a deep dark plan forming without her permission.

_"You don't think that I have anything to do with them do you?"_ She was starting to think that he thought she worked for them, after all she wasn't at all sure if he witnessed he 'arrival' there at the police station that day or not.

_"No. I don't as a matter of fact. Everything you have said and done shows me that you're telling the truth. I have something else to ask you, and it doesn't come easy for me so here goes."_ He hooked a finger in the collar of his uniform and looked at the desk, breaking eye contact momentarily.

_"I have heard you fighting with your dreams in your sleep. It disturbed me the first time I heard it and I have a similar situation happening to me. I was wondering what you had been through and if there was a way we could help each other with these demons we face. I know it's asking a lot of you and we don't know much about each other yet, but I'm asking this as a favor."_ His face was sad and turning pale.

She didn't realize that was happening to her and she wondered what had happened to him to make him feel that way, the way he did towards her.

_"How is it that I feel like we have known each other over a lifetime when we just met, you help me and then you ask these questions? I don't understand what it is that makes these things happen but they only way to make it through them is to fight them. Think about only the best of times and hold them close to you always."_ Her eyes were convicting and told him everything he needed, she was telling him this from the heart because it worked for her. She felt her face flush gently as she spoke but he needed to hear this to help him, in the event that she didn't return for whatever reason.

_"I don't know but ever since you appeared here I felt a strong feeling that we were meant to met. To be a team and complement each other on the battlefield--"_ The rest of his words were cut short by the sounds of a radio transmission on the base station.

It was a faint, crackling of a call sign followed by the unmistakable words, _"Prydwen, do you copy over?"_

Both Danse and the Captain bolted into the other room where Haylen and Rhys were gathered around the old broadcast radio.

_"Prydwen, do you copy? This is Scribe Haylen over."_

The transmission was not very good and the Captain popped the back panel off the radio, adjusted some of the components and nodded to her again.

_"Prydwen, this is recon team Gladius, do you copy over."_ The signal popped and hummed for a moment until a male voice snapped on.

_"Gladius we read you loud and clear, situation report."_

It was a relief for everyone as Danse got on the radio and gave the reports. They all watched him like little children watching their father wash the car on the driveway on Sunday morning. He lit up in his eyes and spoke with the confidence he has always held in his throat. The words didn't matter, it was how he said the words and their little conversation in the office had obliviously been uplifting to him.

_"Copy that Paladin, the Prydwen will arrive in roughly fourteen hours, be prepared for a briefing and resupply upon our arrival. Prydwen out!"_ The signal snapped off and they all stood around looking at each other.

The joy washed over their faces and she watched as they started to prepare for the coming of the Prydwen. Danse turned to her and smiled. His face was now beaming with the light of life and hope.

_"The Prydwen is an airship that the Brotherhood built in the Capital Wasteland. After it arrives we can continue our conversation, in the mean time we get to wait for her arrival."_ He walked away leaving her stand there alone in thought.

An airship huh? This might work out better than she thought. She went back to her bag in the backroom and retrieved from it a drawing pad and a set of pencils. She had an old hobby that helped her with bad times and she wanted to remember these people even if they weren't considered real.

She watched Haylen packing her things and started a quick sketch of her. As soon as the major attributes were in place she slipped away to the roof of the police station to finish the final touches, a real life portrait of her in pencil. It took a couple hours for each but she had to do everyone here, it was important to her.

She next caught a glimpse of Knight Rhys, even though he was hot headed and overly loyal to the Brotherhood she thought that he deserved a spot in her little book. She sketched out a rough outline and vanished again to a different location to finish. Out of sight, and out of mind.

She returned to find Paladin Danse, he was the one she truly wanted to capture. He was the reason she was still alive and she never wanted to forget him. She snuck around the police station and found him in the office looking at the wall. Physically there but absent in mind, in this moment she quickly sketched him, roughly and closed the book. She needed a different pose, this one wouldn't do well for what she wanted to capture. She slipped into the next room as he got up and walked out into the police station. He stood looking at his power armor as she watched him through a hole in the wall.

_"Perfect."_ She hissed in a low tone to herself.

She sketched him quickly, enough to her satisfaction and left for the roof again. As she left Danse knew she was there and looked over in that direction as the door closed to the roof. He smiled and chuckled to himself in wonder as to what she was up to.

She sat on the roof in a tucked in place, finishing out the portraits of him. It was painstaking as she was a perfectionist for the way people looked and she didn't want to miss represent them in anyway. She ran the pencils over his brow, his lips and his eyes. He had followed her up there and he was sneaking glances at her as she laid on her stomach looking at the drawings dreamily. She felt someone there and snapped the book shut, she had finished and was relishing in her work when he disturbed her solace. She knew who it was, that just went without saying.

He conceded to defeat of his stealth ability and showed himself to her. He smiled at her as she slid the book under her body to conceal it's presence.

_"What are you doing up here?"_ He asked as the sunset started it's death struggle in the sky with the evening twilight. His eyes were a beautiful brown hue that she had never seen with such vibrancy before as he cooed her.

_"Oh I was just doing something I like to do. I just don't like to let people know what I'm doing though, they have a way of judging and I don't approve of that."_ She said as she slowly stood with the book in hand.

He shrugged and turned to the sunset.

_"You don't have to share it with me if you don't want to. If you decide to I promise not to judge."_

She slowly approached him from behind and looked up at the sky as she stood at his side. She handed him the book without looking at him and he opened it. He gazed upon the drawings and found himself astounded by her mystery. He knew so little about her but what she shared with him he cherished and felt honored to be afforded these luxuries.

_"Wow!"_ He exclaimed quietly as he looked through them and he was even more taken by the sketches of himself. He ran is fingers over one that had him dressed in a black suit and tie. _"These are so lifelike I have never seen anything like this before, they are so amazing. Thank you for sharing them with me."_

He closed the book and handed it back to her. She took it from his hand and looked into his eyes as it was now getting dark very quick.

_"You're very welcome Danse."_ She smiled and held the book close to her chest. He right forearm had been hurting lately and she flicked her right arm violently as they stood there. He looked at her with concern as she did this action.

_"What's wrong with your arm?"_ He asked as she laid the book on some of the ducting and she squeezed her forearm and wrist.

_"Oh it's nothing really, it's just tight and it hurts sometimes."_

Her words trailed off as he took her arm in his hands. She had noticed he hadn't put his gloves on today and his hands were warm to her. He slid the forearm of the suit up to the elbow and exposed her bare skin to the night's cool air. She stood very still in awe of what he was doing, she didn't know what to expect as he started massaging her forearm muscles with his slightly callused hands. It hurt slightly at first but it started to feel very different, it left intrigue under the skin as he moved his fingers around there.

She closed her eyes as he pressed a little harder into the muscles and broke up a knot in the tendons and the popping sound made it feel even better at the muscle relaxed and loosened its grip on the bones. She licked her lips and knew that this innocence would lead to something else if she didn't stop it right now, but he held her captive in this moment and she felt--. She felt something she had never felt before in her life and it frightened her.

Her expression changed and she formulated her words carefully as to not sound in distress or rude.

_"Paladin, thank you, I didn't know that you were so good with intuition. You had better stop that now, before someone sees."_

He stopped, gasping slightly as it hit him that what they were doing might have seemed slightly inappropriate and he pulled his hands back.

_"You're right. That was reckless of me, I wasn't thinking but I'm glad you were. I hope that helped._ " He said getting the book and handing it back to her as she pulled her sleeve back down.

_"That's okay. I owe you, so let me know what I can do for you and I'll make it happen, even if it's something of a discrete nature. That's my promise to you."_ She held her hand out and they shook on it.

_"Deal. I might call upon you later. I haven't decided yet. The Prydwen will be here in the morning and I wanted to experience it's arrival first hand. I want you to be here with me when she comes over."_ He started walking towards the door motioning to her and she followed.

_"I'll be here."_ She stopped as he opened the door for her and they went inside.

They parted ways as she put the book back in her bag, she lifted the telegraph out and examined it again. She almost hoped that it didn't work so she could stay here with them, integrate and live out her life without the shadow of the government man over her. She sighed slid it back in the bag and felt the guilt of it. It wouldn't be right if she did that and let them think she had been killed during the experiment, she was bigger than that.

They all ate together in the kitchen that night, she said little as they all laughed and told stories over the food. She realized in that moment that she was eating their food, the rations she had packed made her sick and puke every time. Her gut wrenched as she came to the facts that she was in phase with this world and not her own.

It hit her harder when she reflected on the event that took place on the rooftop of the police station, she had broken a cardinal rule of the quantum world, she let Danse touch her skin with his and the DNA transfer would have been all it took to change things. On top of that the shrapnel that the removed from her body may have had the DNA fragments of the dead vault dweller on them and that went into her body also.

She was suddenly in a bit of a pickle she had cut herself off from all expression when she figured it out. The lump in her throat nearly strangling her. If she went back she may not have been able to stay there, she would have to come back here and here she would stay. She smiled at her new plan, formulated, executed over fifty times in her head and in place without the knowledge of anyone else.

After the feast everyone started for their beds, it was very late but she stayed outside and looked up at the sky for a bit. She looked at her watch to find it was 0235. She chuckled a bit at it.

Danse slithered across the courtyard slowly making his way over to her and not being very sneaky at it mind you.

_"I thought you were sleeping."_ She said over her shoulder as he sat behind her.

_"I couldn't sleep. I was having difficulty again in my thoughts and I knew you'd be out here."_ He edged his way up to her ever so slowly when she turned back and looked at him.

_"Well I said I owed you, what is it that you think I can do for you?"_ She put her hand down behind her and turned slightly to him. He hair falling from its position in a lose bun and spreading out over her back. He never knew she could look like that and he eyes sparkled in the light as she watched him. He shook a little and even though he didn't want to admit it to himself he wanted her to hold him, for intimacy sake, innocent and pure. He was shy and he started to lose his nerve when he blurted it out.

_"I want you to hold me here. It's not anything, sexual, I just want to feel your touch."_ His eyes were filled with tender fervor as he now felt completely vulnerable, his lips slightly twitching, exposing his emotions to her and unable to cope with rejection if it came.

She smiled and pulled out a little tiny gun from her pocket.

_"You know what this is?"_ It's silver glint flashing as she turned it over in the lights from the police station. "No." He shook his head in confusion.

_"This is a mini electro-magnetic pulse generator. I shoot those light over there with it and we can have all the privacy we want under the stars."_ She pointed it over at the police station and pulled the trigger. A blue swirling, circular glow shot over and splashed the building, the lights were gone.

He slid over to her and she held head his head against her chest. She put the gun back in her pocket and he listened to her heartbeat. She was warm through her suit and he put his arms around her. He started to sob gently, injured by his thoughts as they beat him down, but she was there as he had dreamed she would be and she held him up against them, to defeat them. She held him for hours as he cried in the safety of her domain. She felt him melt into relaxation as he slowly calmed down. It was then that she knew he had PTSD much like she had, and he felt closer to her now than her did to anyone else. He had become emotional attached to her and she felt a discovery of emotions stir within her.

The morning light kissed the sky with a new dawn, a new fight against the darkness, and they had healed each other by a simple gesture of kindness. She watched the changing sky with a new found feeling or sense of self. He was important in many regards but to him she was a safe haven. A soldier faced with things that most in her dimension never faced but he faced them constantly and had no place to confide his feelings, until he met her.

She gently woke him up as the dawn spread its light across the wastes for another day, a new adventure awaited them in this day and it would provide the grounds for many tough decisions not yet made.

They stood on the roof of the police station awaiting the Prydwen, he sipped his coffee and then there she was. It was an amazing sight to see it, and the many vertibirds that swirled it like hornets around a nest.

The Prydwen was an amazing engineering feat as it soared above them. She searched it as the sounds of its engines danced over the hard surfaces and it hummed over to its station above the airport. She thought about her work as a test pilot and she enjoyed the sight of air power it made her feel connected and she smiled.

One vertibird flew to the police station and landed on the roof there. As it approached they both knew it was time, they entered the station got their gear and boarded it. It was time to call home, meet the Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel and form a pact for her return to duty. It was an eventful day that harnessed the very essence of what might be. The experiences that she shared with the Paladin would be a reminder that there were better things in life aside from working herself to death. That their demons were being killed by each other's every time they were in close proximity and they didn't need to feel like strangers any longer. They were the last two people any one would have thought would sneak off into the darkness of the night but their actions in the dark were innocent and true. The nature of emotional states of mind are a mystery to even those that possess them, post traumatic stress disorders would mask certain things, but due to their similar undoing's, due to their occupations, they were on a journey like no other and the first steps had already been taken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone! Please leave kudos if you liked it and stay tuned for more!


	7. The Enlightenment of Quantum Shifting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Terra Hulsey made a way to 'phone home' after so much trouble fell into her lap. She has also found emotional refuge in a man that isn't considered real which calls into question her sanity. A cardinal rule in quantum mechanics has been broken as she accidentally violated several laws of physics with her chance encounters. Will this prove to be her undoing or the undoing of the entire universe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two songs here folks : Song one; Jackson Browne: These days  
> link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcJDI7a_1lk
> 
> Song two; Parson James: Stole the show  
> link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgMl2C6Y0xY

Paladin Danse and Captain Hulsey arrived on the flight deck of the Prydwen. An older black man was waiting there for them by the name of Kells. He was the Captain of this fine vessel and she was under his control. We were to meet him for a small briefing and then proceed to the address of their Elder, a man named Arthur Maxson. She wasn't sure if she could explain what she needed to do here to them, and Paladin Danse felt she would do fine. She was now standing alone with Captain Kells, his eyes squeezing her as he looked for anything her could throw at her.

 _"Well Paladin Danse has taken you under his guidance. He's putting a lot on the line for you, don't screw this up for him, his career is on the line."_ His words were sharp and crisp. Just you would expect from a man of that caliber.

 _"Yes sir, I understand sir."_ She stood rigid to him as his expression softened.

 _"You know you look like who you say you are and I'm honored to meet you. Go get to Maxson's address he's eager to met you, Ad Victoriam!"_ He saluted her and she returned the gesture.

Apparently her reputation was preceding her again. She took Kells to be a man that was hard to impress and his words, as they were put, made her proud to have been spoken to that way by him. She was beaming with confidence as she took up a position on the observation deck with other high ranking Brotherhood officers. Her fatigues made her stand out in vast contrast to everyone else in the room but she stood tall against them, and she was surprised that she was taller than most of them.

She watched the Elder as he walked back and forth, his eyes scanning everyone as he spoke. She knew little of him up until this point but after the speech she was hit with a gut wrenching notion that he probably didn't even realize. He sounded just like a man that once ran the National Socialist Party many years ago and he didn't even realize that he might have been repeating history all over again. She had to make a plan to combat this at all costs, The Institute, whatever it was, it should not be targeted and destroyed. It should be captured and exploited instead. Thoughts for another day for there were more pressing things at hand.

The Elder was very young, he was probably twenty or twenty one years old and he looked rough around the edges. His blue eyes scanned her as she stood against his gaze just before he started his line of questioning for her.

 _"So Paladin Danse has briefed me on your situation, he taken to you better than anyone under his command ever, and now I can see why."_ He put his hands behind his back and circled her as she stood at attention.

 _"I understand that you have been sent here be the United States Air Force of another dimension, and you need to use our communications here to contact them. I will agree to your use of our facilities under one condition."_ He stopped in front of her and looked into her eyes.

 _"Name it."_ She replied crisp and clean.

 _"I want you to infiltrate The Institute for us. You will be commissioned as a Knight in the Brotherhood of Steel and Paladin Danse will be your sponsor and companion. He will be your wingman until I see fit to pull him back here with me. Understood?"_ His words split her thoughts like ribbons and they rolled out across the floor of an old workshop floor and out the open door back into his eyes.

 _"Sir! Yes sir! Consider it done."_ She was quick with her responses as she was starting to become very nervous in his presence, and not many men could do that to her.

 _"You seem so eager to get into The Institute and I want to help you make that happen. Whatever the reason may be, make no mistake you now represent the Brotherhood of Steel and I expect you to uphold our beliefs Knight."_ His expression changed to one of wonder as he turned and looked out over the commonwealth.

 _"I understand sir. I won't let you down sir."_ She slowly relaxed as he stood with his back to her.

_"Go I knew that you wouldn't, go see Captain Kells about you communications needs and meet back up with Paladin Danse and myself on the flight deck afterwards."_

His words flowed across the floor like water and she felt as if she were under the microscope. Like the gaze of the green eyes of the government man were there watching her. She left him there and proceeded to the command deck where Captain Kells waited for her next to the main communication array. It looked a lot like the deck of a submarine and she was surprised that they were as well outfitted as they were.

 _"Captain Kells sir."_ She stopped and saluted him. He returned her gesture as he looked at her bag and the telegraph she held in her hand.

 _"Elder Maxson has given permission for you to splice into the system to get a signal out to your people. Please put it back the way it was before when you're finished."_ His gaze left her was he walked over to the opposite side of the deck.

_"Yes sir, of course."_

She said as she took the transponder out the bag and connected it to the telegraph. She took the rear panel off the radio system and peered inside. She took a small flashlight and holding in her teeth clipped the wires on the telegraph to the outgoing communications lines in the unit. She then took a heavy chain, wrapped it around her waist and dropped the rest to the metal decking. Kells looked over at her with a slightly horrified look on his face.

_"Is that really necessary?"_

_"Yes sir. This is my makeshift grounding system."_

She said as she slid on a pair of heavy leather gauntlet gloves and reached inside the unit to hook up the power supply to the transponder. She clipped it to together with an alligator clip and a small green light started flashing on the transponder. She tossed the gloves on the floor and tuned the dials on the radio to the appropriate channel and the green light turned solid finally.

She had a look of awe, amazement and curiosity all at once as she started tapping the telegraph.

_"Oh god I hope this thing works."_

_**Mission Control: Pentagon, Epsilon Station** _

The scientists had all been running around the place like chickens with their heads cut off for the past nine days, that's right nine days had passed since she had been sent into the system. Her signal from the Nano suit was still flashing on the screen and they knew she was alive because it was changing position.

Janet had collected all the information possible on the program, brought in some of the development team and members from JPL to determine if the Nano suit would hold up if it had been damaged in anyway. They had worked hard with little sleep as they all poured over the data that was slowly feeding back to them from the Nano suit. They had books, maps, and rendered photos of the environment from the development team. One room was devoted to each thing, one for the environment, the Nano suit and one for contamination control if she came back broken and messed up.

Janet was standing looking at a game guide book in a pile of papers and soda cans when she heard the sound of a radar echo, a distinct beep of the transponder that Terra had taken into the system with her and she dropped the book bolting for the lab.

The panic started when the incoming signal alarm was tripped and everyone stopped what they were doing. It was as if the entire earth stood still as the transponder signal flashed for several seconds and turned solid. The mystery man, Janet and the Colonel all stood next to the main communications man in the command cluster as the transmission came through. It was Morse code, and the entire room erupted into cheer.

_"Epsilon station, do you read me STOP"_

The man changed some of the controls and made a morse code signal unit on his computer, sending it back into the system.

_"This is Epsilon station, we receive you. STOP. What is your situation. STOP"_

She started hugging everyone on the command deck as the tapping stopped and she translated the code into plain English. She yelled out and laughed as she was overcome with joy.

_"Situation SNAFU. STOP. Transponder damaged and injured STOP. Made contact with Brotherhood of Steel forces in the Boston Commonwealth STOP. Advise on signal control lock for immediate retrieval STOP. Send coordinates over broadcast channel STOP."_

Her message was displayed on a plasma screen in the command cluster for all to see. She was alive and well, that was more than they had known but they all had a hunch. Janet looked down at all the research on the Fallout 4 world and got some coordinates for her to get out without anything getting in the way.

She gave the coordinates to the man and he sent the transmission.

_"Coordinates 42.3631'N 71.0064'W STOP. Expect extraction within the hour STOP."_

She looked at her watch and took note of the time 1147. She had what she had been waiting for and now she had to leave. She didn't want to leave them but she had to go back it was her orders and she followed them to the tee. She took the equipment and put it all back inside of her bag, put the radio system back the way it was and said goodbye to Captain Kells. As she started to walk up the stairs she turned back and ,"Sir! I shall return." He nodded to her and she left for the flight deck to tell Maxson and Danse.

She strode up to them as they ended their conversation on her arrival. Danse knew right away something was up as she was beaming with happiness. Maxson waited for her to open her mouth as he didn't want to make any judgments.

 _"Gentlemen, I have made contact with my superiors and they have given me coordinates to be sent back through the system within the hours. Elder Maxson will you take a rain check on my involvement until my return, and might I get a ride to the airport below please."_ She was well mannered and he was more than happy to accommodate her after what he learned from the Paladin.

"Of course Captain. Please return to us soon, we need your help and he hate to lose you." They shook hands as she turned away. Paladin Danse went with her down to the airport. He was sad that she was leaving but he understood what her duties were and what had to be done.

They got off the vertibird and went to a deserted location of the airport where the pip-boy had maximum signal strength. They stood there looking at each other, the sound of the beacon locking down on her signal was audible on the pip-boy and it was only a matter of minutes before she would be whisked away.

He lifted his hand to hers and they pressed their palms together momentarily. The beeping was faster and faster now as the signal was narrowing down.

_"Thank you Terra. I can't wait for you to return."_

_"Thank you Danse, for showing me that there is more to life. I shall return, make no mistake I will be coming back."_

They smiled at each other as the signal lock as fully established by a solid sound and he backed away as the ground shook beneath their feet and the orange bolt of lightning snapped down from the open blue sky and carried her back to the platform in the lab.

He stood in shock as the snap blew him onto this back on the ground with a jolt of unseen force. When he looked back where she had been she had vanished. His eyes started to well up and he was already missing her. He quickly wiped away the tears and swallowed them away as others ran over to him. She'll be back and we'll have more time, he told himself, he knew she would no matter the cost.

The snap of light was just as it had been before and the rough ride landed her on her knees on the platform puking up the contents of her stomach. She tried not to get it on herself and she pushed herself back from the pile of bile and undigested food as everyone looked on. They couldn't approach her until the ring stopped spinning so she just sat there for a moment more before slowly standing and wiping her mouth. The cheering went on as she stood, papers flying around the lab wildly in the static discharge phases of the machine as it hissed and groaned to a stop.

She waved to everyone as the blast door opened and they flooded in as she left the platform and they smashed into her, Janet first. She was overwhelmed by their joy and happy tears as they lifted her on their shoulders and paraded her down the corridor. The mystery man, slowly dropping the headset on the desk, lighting a cigarette calm and immune to all the commotion going on around him. He was watching her as they took her away and some other scientists scooped up the mess into bags for study.

He took one last long drag from the smoke before she left his gaze and he flicked it to the floor. He walked away leaving a vanishing trail of smoke lingering in the room of humming computers and screens.

After about five or six war stories, blowing things up and outrageous Fallout lore with everyone Janet escorted her to her room as she had started to feel fatigued quickly. She left her there and Terra was relieved to be home in a sense.

She knew she was not alone when she dropped the rucksack on the floor with her vest and started removing her boots. She caught the whisp of cigarette smoke and there he was. The man in the black suit stood up very slowly, smoke in his mouth and he took his jacket off to reveal a white dress shirt underneath. She was suddenly thrown into a panic at his very presence.

 _"What are you doing here?"_ She asked almost startled by him as he walked over to her and she sat on the couch involuntarily.

 _"I have come here to inspect you personally. I have my own questions for you and expect answers not lies."_ His words rolling over her like water from a high distance over rocks as in a waterfall, taking her breath away as they passed by her.

 _"I have nothing to hide go ahead with your questions and inspections."_ She said as she stood back up again, facing him as he took another long drag from his smoke and he narrowed his eyes.

 _"Take that off and let me see what has happened to you."_ He said turning away from her.

She complied without hesitation and removed the fatigues and then the Nano suit came off. She made sure that Danse's clothes were left behind, no evidence of his involvement would come to light in this world if she had any control over it, which she knew was very limited. She now stood naked to him and his eyes scanned her very carefully, the stitches we good and no sign of infection was evident there. No other outward signs of anything else other than what she had already had.

 _"Very well, put it all back on."_ He put the smoke out on the ash tray in the other room as she put the Nano suit back on. That was all she wanted to wear just that and let her bare feet enjoy freedom from her boots.

 _"I'll clear you for return after we pull blood, urine and the usual. Excellent work Terra, keep it up and you'll be more of an asset than you realize."_ He smiled and patted her on the side of her face.

She watched him as he circled her and sat down on the chair facing her from the desk.

 _"So what was it like?"_ He pulled another smoke up to his lips, lit it and blew the smoke away with a half crooked smile on his face.

 _"It was rough and it damn near killed me. I didn't expect it to be as real as it was, that place was astonishing and very well thought out."_ He smiled as he opened the file be pulled from his jacket.

 _"Yes I'm sure it was. Did you collect the samples as discussed in your contract?"_ She sucked at the air as his sheer force of will slapped her brain.

 _"Yes I have them."_ She opened the bag and handed him a box filled with test tubes that had been capped off. Some of them held hair, blood, and other items such as stimpaks and all the different meds they had at their disposal at the police station.

He took the box and set it on the floor next to his shoe. Ashes slowly dropped from the end of the cigarette as he turned his glare on her.

 _"The stitches, who did that work?"_ She felt his depth of interrogation reach over at her and a shiver of pain launched like a rocket down her right arm. She clenched her fist and looked away for a second before regaining her nerve to react to the conversation.

_"A man named Danse. He was a rank of Paladin in the military organization of the Brotherhood of Steel. He was the first person I met in the environment."_

_"Person? Don't you mean program?"_ He asked forcing her words back down her throat.

 _"Excuse me, program that I met in the environment. He removed me from danger and fixed this injury."_ She wasn't ready to divulge herself to him any further but she knew he'd get it out of her anyway.

 _"What else happened Terra? Don't fight with me or you'll get a healthy dose of truth serum in your system before you know what hits you."_ His words were extreme but he was telling her as it was. He wanted, and was entitled to, the information leaving her no choice but to tell what happened.

_"The main character of the program was killed and the system reestablished me as its main character. Essentially I have become part of that program and if my theory is true the system will start to exhibit the signs of my absence."_

Her words rattled him and he was visible disturbed by what she told him there, the cigarette slowly fell to the floor in a gentle free fall and the ash fluttered as it smacked the tile beneath it. His green eyes turned dark and he was hiding anger behind them as he calmly watched her expression.

 _"Please enlighten me on your findings Captain."_ The words slipped out in a subtle hiss as the time ticked on through her watch into her bones. Those words were filled with upset, concern and undecided thoughts awaiting confirmation.

_"You see when I was sent into the system I was not out of phase with the environment as I should have been. I was in phase so my very presence there made that world real, tangible and like it is here, a reality. There was a chance that it could have happened that way but since it did this event has created a quantum shift between our two worlds. My being here will create a vacuum between the two worlds, like un open-ended worm hole through time and space. The longer I remain here the more things will happen, that other world will attempt to come here, and it's being pulled her by me. You will find in those tubes that everything there is real. DNA and rNA will be present, and we have sent in motion the end of everything unless I am put back in the system."_

He grabbed the box, looked her in the eyes and brushed her hair away from her forehead.

_"I believe you and this will be corrected. You will be going back into the system as soon as possible."_

He grabbed his jacket and left the room. He freaked her out but she would never say that to anyone other than Danse. Her arm started hurting again, making her fingers go numb slightly. She knew what that meant and so she went to the medical bay on her own to get the procedures done faster than normal. She wanted to get them done before she started showing the signs of her wrong doings, where Danse he touched her arm, and she knew what she had to do.

The male doctor walked in after she had done her urine test, blood test, vision and hearing testing. He set the chart down and took his glasses off rubbing his face.

 _"Okay, it's all clear. I set authorization for reentry for tomorrow so the team can get everything in the system synchronized properly for a better entry. So enjoy your time off and I hope you have a rewarding return trip."_ He put his hand on hers and smiled patting her hand.

 _"Thank you Doctor goodnight."_ She stood up and returned to her quarters.

She pushed a chair up against the door and took out her sketch pad to look at her work. She looked at it and dreamed about her time there in that world. Her arm started hurting worse yet and she dropped the pad on her bed. She pulled up the sleeve of her suit and looked at her arm in horror. That's when she realized what a problem she had, she was out of phase with the real world, and her arm was becoming transparent. She pulled the sleeve down, found some gloves, put them on and called Janet on her phone.

_RING! RING! RING! RING!_

Janet lifted the handset on the other end _. "Janet! Don't say anything-- just listen. I have an issue and I need you to come to my quarters when you can, I should have the solution by then I just want a second opinion okay?"_ Her voice shaking as she spoke into the receiver to her friend.

 _"Okay Terra tomorrow it is and I'll bring the drinks."_ Terra knew something was amiss, that her words were code for not being alone.

 _"You better bring the good shit and not hold out on me Janet. Bye."_ She said as if it were part of the conversation.

 _"Okay I'll bring the scotch, bye."_ Janet hung up the phone as the man in the suit watched her expression as she laid the handset down. He knew it was Terra on the line and he was very concerned about her state of mind.

 _"She thinks that the environment is real, and that the people there are real. What are the chances of that being true Doctor? Or is she becoming delusional?"_ She searched his face with an upset confusion.

_"She's telling the truth if that's what she experienced. The chances are over seventy- five percent if she went into the system in phase with the environment, and she may already be locked to that quantum dimension. She's not delusional, she never has been and how dare you question her state of mind after what you have put her through."_

_"Careful with your words towards me Doctor."_ His tone became low and pointed as she backed down from her rude statement. _"That's what I was afraid of, what are the signs that this quantum world is pulling itself towards us?"_ He stood up with the box in his hand near the door as if to exit.

Janet shook her head looking at the floor and her face changed when she had what she was looking for, looking back at the man she looked horrified and slightly sick.

_"Tremors at first, physical changes in her body and then electrical anomalies, aberrations of spherical shapes of liquid floating through walls and things of that nature."_

He narrowed his eyes, he nodded and left the room in haste with the box, the door shutting leaving Janet alone in the dark.

Terra dropped the receiver back down on the phone and started her frantic work. She had covered her walls over, they had chalk board beneath and she had boxes of chalk hidden in the desk. She had a copier type printer in her room and she made copies of her drawings. Then she turned to the chalk boards, looked at her watch as her arm's transparency traveled up towards her elbow. The watch said 2109, she had time to figure it all out but she didn't know how much.

_Tap, Tap, Tap._

The chalk being applied to the board, some if it flaking off onto to floor and she played music in the background to work by. The pain in her arm starting to get into her shoulder now, only an hour passed by and the wall was over half full by her equations. The next song started on her lineup started and she stopped for a time, lost in her thoughts of the environment, the Brotherhood and her role there with them.

That's when the first small tremor happened and the proximity alarms in the complex rang out loudly. She was fading and her arm hurt as if it were being removed by a bone saw at the shoulder. It was happening, the two worlds were colliding and she was trapped in her room trying to make sense of it all with her equations, working for an insane solution but she knew the conclusion.

The flow of the music was now reaching her brain and moving her arm. Its melody moving her deeply and keeping her sane.

 

_Well I've been out walking_

_I don't do that much talking these days_

_These days-_

_These days I seem to think a lot_

_About the things that I forgot to do_

_For you_

_And all the times I had the chance to_

 

_And I had a lover_

_It's so hard to risk another these days_

_These days-_

_Now if I seem to be afraid_

_To live the life I have made in song_

_Well it's just that I've been losing so long_

 

_I'll keep on moving_

_Things are bound to be improving these days_

_These days-_

_These days I sit on corner stones_

_And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend_

_Don't confront me with my failures_

_I had not forgotten them_

 

She had fallen asleep on the floor and it made little difference to her now as she enjoyed her sweet dreams, the first time they weren't nightmares, she had since she was a little girl.

The equations all added up to what she had already known to be true and her eyes were now luminescent from the changes of quantum shift. She was half transparent now and Janet would be there any time and she hoped she was alone. The entire room was a mess, papers strewn across the floor, soda cans everywhere and the walls were completely covered in physics and mathematical equations leading to one huge circled answer. All it said was BOOM! with a little atomic cloud above it.

Janet knocked at the door with a bottle of Scotch in her hand. That's when a large earthquake rattled the entire complex, the lights flickered and ceiling tiles fell to the floor. The entire complex groaned with metal on metal creaking and concrete crumbling, its pebbles bouncing on the white floors of the hallways and it made everybody on edge.

Terra had suffered a seizure and now lay unconscious in her room. The man in the black suit had been there with Janet and helped her break the door down when the earthquake stopped and everything stabilized. Janet dropped the bottle of scotch, it bounced across the floor and she covered her mouth with her hand to keep from screaming out. They saw her laying there and as they approached she opened her eyes, they were completely vivid with a light blue gray luminescence. They shone like they had light behind them. She took off her right glove and pulled up the sleeve to show the transparency in her arm to them, unable to speak.

Janet twisted with horror, sadness and melancholy. The mystery man gasped and was concerned for her well being as she had become out of phase with this world, and now she was part of a quantum shift that could ultimately destroy both worlds and the universe if she wasn't put back.

 _"Oh my god, I had no idea."_ She started crying out as Terra put the sleeve down and glove back on.

 _"That's okay, I want you to see something."_ She croaked out of her deathly gasps. She handed her the copies of the drawings she had done and Janet looked through them the man looking over her shoulder and kneeling next to Terra helping her sit up.

"Wow, he's handsome. Who is he?" She said talking about Danse. Terra smiled and started coughing with a wet nasty cough.

 _"That is Paladin Danse. He's my friend and we have become close. He was the one that saved my life there and when the main character, the vault dweller, got killed the system made me take her place. Now that I'm gone there is a void between the two worlds and it will cause them both to collapse in on themselves taking everything else with it. What's happening to me is just the beginning and I have to go back inside the system. I have done all the math as you can see here."_ She said pointing at the walls and falling into the arms of the man.

Janet had started stuffing a laptop, an external hard drive and a solar cell into her bag on the floor along with her sketch book. She sat there in wonder and finally asked her friend a sensitive question in the presence of the man.

 _"Did you have sex with him?"_ He words made her quake with fear and she hated the way she said it.

 _"No, I didn't. He's not like that to me, he's not another John, Janet. He is different."_ Her words were sharp and to the point. Slicing back at her like a steely knife. She turned and looked back at her as Janet put the drawings down and stood up.

 _"One more song and we're going to the platform."_ The man helped her put her hand on fatigues and gear for the return trip, as Janet sat at the desk and wrote out a letter to Doctor Cade. She made out instructions for Terra's medical care and phase shift integration for their quantum dimension. She wrapped a set of equipment and an IV bag with it and stuffed it into the bag. The man in the suit had seemingly changed towards her and Terra looked into his eyes as he held her up from falling.

 _"I'm truly sorry for what happening to you Captain Hulsey. I never meant for this experiment to take its toll on you like this and I hope that when you get back in the system you make it. I really do."_ He put the rucksack on her back and she took his shoulder as they made haste down the hallway to the lab. She had to shuffle her feet as they went along.

Janet started another song on the sound system in her room, and it was an evident reflection of how Terra felt right then. Janet came careening sideways out of her room, she ran down the hallway to get the game guide for Terra, and she felt that it was extremely important for her to change the course of events in the program to make it work out for her, especially after what she had shared about Paladin Danse.

The sounds filled the hallways and corridors as she feed the music into every speaker of the complex, at least on that level through that computer and locked it out. The entire mission team knew what it meant and while Terra had been gone that song was to mark a disaster in the lab and act as an all call to activate the system under the emergency protocols.

As the piano started everyone that worked on the project stopped and looked into the vastness of space with a sinking sadness of melancholia. They never thought they would ever hear it but that was where they had all been wrong.

Its eerie sad sounds crept through the entire facility, every ear that turned to it was driven off to the mission command area for the work they had to do there, as it was now of utmost importance. It acted like the piped piper and the people were under its spell, hypnotized by its melody and yielded only to their predestinations when it played.

 

_Darling, darling, oh, turn the lights back on now_

_Watching, watching, as the credits all roll down_

_Crying, crying, you know we're playing to a full house, house_

_No heroes, villains, one to blame While wilted roses filled the stage_

_And the thrill, the thrill is gone_

_Our debut was a masterpiece_

_But in the end for you and me_

_Oh, the show, it can't go on_

_We used to have it all, but now's our curtain call_

_So hold for the applause, oh_

_And wave out to the crowd, and take our final bow_

_Oh, it's our time to go, but at least we stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

_Darling, darling, you know that we are sold out_

_Kisses fading, but the band plays on now_

_We're crying, crying, so let the velvet roll down, down_

_No heroes, villains, one to blame_

_While wilted roses fill the stage_

_And the thrill, the thrill is gone_

_Our debut was a masterpiece_

_Our lines we read so perfectly_

_But the show, it can't go on_

_We used to have it all, but now's our curtain call_

_So hold for the applause, oh_

_And wave out to the crowd, and take our final bow_

_Oh, it's our time to go, but at least we stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

_Stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

_Stole the show_

_Least we stole the show_

 

Janet ran to the room where she had dropped it and dug it out of the papers on the floor, papers flying wildly as she tossed they away in a frantic rage. The sounds of people feet running through the hallways and door flung open into empty hallways as the controllers for the system were spooling up. The men entered the command cluster and the hissing of life came to the machine as Terra and the mystery man entered through the blast doors.

Another quake hit and the facility rattled as the man shielded Terra from falling debris, and Janet slid into the doorway of the blast doors watching as the workers all tumbled to the floor as it rocked and rolled. Electrical panels spitting out sparks and hoses bursting, shooting out pressurized white gaseous vapors into the air. The alarms screeched as the facility tilted this way and that way.

It stopped suddenly and everyone got up. The man lifted Terra to her feet and she was just barely able to stand on her feet as she was now becoming very weak. She trembled as Janet shoved the book into pack and took her arm. Both the man and the scientist now took her up and stood her on the platform. Terra held her chest as they slowly let her go and she waved them off.

 _"Thank you both. I'm sorry about all this trouble."_ She managed to shove through the pain out into her voice box and to their ears.They both nodded and the ring started to spin as they both left the room. The ring was moving faster than last time and when they got into the command cluster the Colonel was there watching Terra on the platform.

 _"System at one hundred percent waiting for the rotation to stabilize sir!"_ The mission controller said as the man in the suit put on a headset. Janet stood next to the Colonel and watched as the room below was changing. Everything that wasn't nailed down was flung to the walls, and those four walls declared Terra insane as the electrical currents flashed around like lost lightning, hitting and blasting the crap out of everything they touched.

 _"Will she survive doctor?!"_ The Colonel asked as they all held onto something in the cluster as the ring spun faster yet causing the cluster to tilt in towards it. The quantum world was pulling them all into the platform and the carrier wave was fifteen seconds from firing.

 _"I hope so or we'll all find out quickly as we all implode into each other as the universe collapses."_ She replied holding on to one of the desks with white knuckles.

 _"I love your words of wisdom doctor!"_ The facility began to shake violently tossing everyone in the command cluster to the ground except for the mission controller who strapped himself into his chair at the console.

Terra looked straight up into the swirl of greens, blues and now purple hues in the wave form field that surrounded her and the form of the black ring that spun around her as a cage. Her expression was one of pain and terror as she felt herself start to de-materialize without the carrier wave.

_"T- MINUS-- THREE--TWO---ONE!!"_

The carrier wave blasted into the room through the platform as she screamed out, watching her flesh being torn from her bones and slammed back into them again. The snap of the carrier wave was so explosive that it burst the windows in the command cluster and made it drop from its rear supports to the secondary supports with awesome force.

Terra had been ripped from one dimension to another as the orange lightning blasted through and around her body at the same time. It was different this time and the mission team was lucky to be alive after the snap, they were left with a badly damaged system. The platform and ring were intact but a lot of the support systems were fried, sparks sputtering from some of the control surfaces, alarms ringing loudly and Terra had been transported back.

As they stood up inside the half collapsed command cluster and looked out over the room below they were in awe of what they found there. Everything that was moveable was stacked into one corner, shoved against the wall and the rest of the place was completely spotless. It was an indication of close they came to the end, where everything had been stacked was the direction in which the other world was coming from to collide with theirs. They all knew if they had sent her a second later they would all be dead and everything would have been lost.

The blast doors were opened manually by the workers and ladders were put up to get everyone out of the command cluster. The electrical cables hung lifeless from the bottom of the cluster and the hoses for the mighty ring laid on the floor, gently hissing as the pressure from the system bleed off into the room. The man in the suit sat in silence as his cigarette dribbled ashes on his pressed jacket and over his handkerchief. He was looking at the results from all the samples she had brought back and she had been right.

**_They were REAL._ **

The DNA and rNA had been mapped for all the samples, even Danse. They were human alright, she had changed them into real tangible people when she entered that environment and he was wrong. They weren't programs at all.

He pulled a cell phone from his pocket, dialed a number and the words that slipped out from his lips gave Janet an insight to his true identity as she started down the ladder.

_"Give me the president, it's a matter of national security."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone I hope you are on the edge of your seat for this, it's taking me more and more time to write these chapters so be patient and you will be rewarded!! Leave kudos if you liked it and have a great day!


	8. Resurgence of the Lightning Rider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Captain's return proves to be harrowing as distrust rears its ugly head and things left to the wrong hands could end with devastating consequences.

It had been a two days since she left him standing there, the orange bolt snapping him onto his back in the dirt and the feelings of longing crossed with depression as she might not be able to return. He was in pain in his mind, his head throbbing as he traveled alone, waiting. He often played with the little transistor radio she had fixed for him with bits from her transponder before she left, but sadly, it only played the _'strange'_ music when she was there. He always kept it on as a way to find out when she was back, so he could be with her and they could continue what they started.

It was starting to get late that night when Danse found himself standing on the roof of the police station, a lancer captain was working on the vertibird when he started feeling as if she was lost and never coming back. It made him feel sick inside and he remembered what she had told him once. He heard her voice and saw her face as they were talking about things on the night shrouded catwalk. Her voice soothed him, even from memory, as he started to slump slightly and listened to it well. _"A mental aliment can strike down anyone, even a strong man like you, and it's nothing to scoff at or be ashamed of. It happens to all of us eventually and only when we are honest with ourselves about it is when we can start to deal with it. If you feel like it's on your back again, remember these little things and it'll help, or at least it helped me. One, the past is over and you can't change what happened, just how to remember it. Two, don't deal with it all at once, it'll overwhelm you. Three, life has a way of surprising us all, so don't sell yourself short without exhausting all your options first."_

He smiled as he leaned on the parapet wall and rolled the coffee around in the cup he held in his hand. The twilight had gone to bed already and he was still awake, watching the cold coffee swirl as her words swept his thoughts like a riptide pulling him under. The small hand held radio sat staring back at him as he looked out over the darkened landscape, the silence of the night flowing around him and the lancer as they worked at different tasks, one with his hands and the other with his mind. Something strange started to happen, the air felt as if it were starting to come alive with an electric sensation and the small radio began to sputter and fizz.

The music started and faded again. He was slightly startled by its sudden sporadic blabbering as he spilled what was left of the coffee almost dropping the cup. He grabbed the radio and slammed it against his ear. The lancer looked over at him as he heard the sound as well, he watched him as he started to shake the radio and listened to it again. It was faint and his full attention was solely on the broadcast when the lancer noticed the sky changing. A swirl of black clouds was forming up in the atmosphere and it sounded as if a distant radiation storm was approaching. He rushed over and tapped Danse on the shoulder shouting at him, _"Look Paladin!"_ He exclaimed pointing up as a series of lightning bolts started blasting across the clear open sky.

They both stopped what they were doing to watch the swirl turn into a rotation and the music now came in clear. It was a strange melody that took on a special power for him, he knew she was coming and it was going to be urgent. The black clouds grew as they rotated and a cone shaped needle like formation began to protrude from the center formation towards the ground. The thunder and lightning was only getting louder as the swirl spun at an even faster rate in one direction on the outside and another in the center. He turned to the lancer and asked for the vertibird to be ready for launch. The lancer nodded to him and started the engines as the storm was now taking on an even larger form. He climbed aboard the vertibird enroute to the center of it when the bright orange lightning shattered the clouds, kicked the air with a violent turbulence that nearly ripped the bird's wings off and he was slammed to the deck in the passenger bay.

As quickly as the storm surge appeared it was dissolving away to reveal the Captain, laying on the ground on her back, motionless on the ground below. There were a couple of small fires that had been started by her reentry but he wasn't worried so much about that as he was her own welfare.

She found herself unable to puke, the ever present feeling pressing her chest as if it were in a vice. She gasped at the air as if she were a fish out of water and every time she attempted to take in a deep breath the sick feeling got one hundred times worse. The vertibird in the air above her was half deafening on top of the insane ringing that pounded in her ears and after several tries she finally got on her side and wrestled her rucksack off.

She knew it was probably Paladin Danse up there and he would be landing very soon, as she clumsily rifled through her rucksack for the letters from Janet. She had witnessed her put them in there but she couldn't find them and she was starting to get really pissed. Finally her fingers brushed the edges of the papers and she felt there to be more than one. She grabbed the bag, pulled it up to her face, digging through it a little slower with blurry vision, she saw several letters, the game guide, the laptop and her external drive. That's when she came to the realization that she had things that had to kept secret, Danse was the only one to be trusted and so she decided to have him guard this bag with his life. She pulled out the stuff for Doctor Cade and the note was still fixed to it, her body started phase shifting as Danse ran over near her.

Her saliva was a bright neon blue as it oozed from her mouth and she put her hand up to Danse before he got too close, to stop him. She had terrible difficultly speaking so she tossed the blob of a package over to his feet with the letter to Cade taped to the top. He knelt down, picked it up and looked back at her with raised brows. She nodded her head, pulled out a pen from her sleeve pocket and wrote on her hand an important message. _'Guard this bag with your life!'_ She motioned him over, held her hand up to him and he acknowledged the message as he knelled down next to her and zipped the bag closed. He made a cross symbol, for _'medic'_ , with his fingers as he put the bag on his back and she nodded. He lifted her into his arms, carried her to the vertibird without getting the saliva on him and they were whisked away to the Prydwen. He laid her on the passenger deck to speak with the pilot and the radio crackled as she looked out of the vertibird up at the night sky.

The message was clear enough that she heard Cade's voice and something about the operation room being ready. Her right arm was phase shifting under the fatigues, the pain was blasting through her body as if carried by her blood and the entire situation seemed completely fragmented. She felt like she was dying, pulled this way and that way as the shift started to stabilize and she soon lost all consciousness.

Danse looked back at her laying on the deck, motionless as they were locked into place and Cade, with his medical team, came into view. As Cade started to climb aboard the vertibird she started have seizures, violent seizures. Danse got on one side of her as Cade helped pulled her off onto the gurney and they rushed her away. Danse handed Cade the 'package' with the note attached as they ran her into the medical bay. The medical team ripped her onto the operating table and started cutting her fatigues off when they all stopped at the nano suit.

It was in a continuous shift pattern, she looked like she was wearing a cuttlefish and it changed colors at an insane rate with small flicks of static electricity flowing around the exterior of the suit. Cade looked at it and then the note, he read the note at a very fast pace and then started the IV package that had been sent back with her.

 _"Danse stay here with her."_ He handed him the note and started to instruct his team. _"Cut that thing off of her and burn it afterwards. Nickola, I need the micro kit stat! Amanda prep for invasive tube insertion I don't know how long it's been since she stopped breathing! Move! Move! Move! John set this IV in her arm after we get this off and set the drip rate at maximum!"_ He said with a fluid motion and the team conformed around him like a hive of bees around their queen. They all worked at an incredible rate, cutting off everything, sending it to the floor in a heap and hooking her up to everything they had as the Doctor put a breathing tube down her throat and she was placed on a ventilator.

Her skin, where the nano suit had failed, was blistered and slightly burned by the journey. The team worked quickly to remove every sliver of the suit as instructed by the note and as they did so Danse read the note himself. He discovered that was the only way to save her life and she would never return to the other side after his happened. It was signed by a Doctor Janet Langdon. He folded it back up, put it back inside the rucksack he held on his lap and watched them work on her. There were five different IV drips leading down into her body, four people were moving around her and Doctor Cade was pulling bits of nano fabric out of her wounds. Danse closed his eyes, tightened his grip on the rucksack and listened to his own thoughts of encouragement and hoped that she somehow heard them as the heart rate monitor beeped along in the background.

An unknown amount of time had passed when he was awoken by Doctor Cade. He was slightly startled and squeezed the bag so hard he thought he was going to crack his ribs. _"Danse? Danse it's me, she's going to be fine. Come on with me let's give her some time to rest."_ Cade whispered softly to him as Danse slowly stood and looked over at her. She was dressed in a medical gown, mostly covered by a blanket and the tube had been removed so she could breathe on her own. She looked pleasant and relaxed laying there after all that work had been performed. He slung the bag onto his back and Cade motioned for him to follow him out into the mess hall.

 _"What time is it?"_ Danse said yawning and covering his mouth with a fist as Cade walked in front of him into the mess. _"Oh it's probably about 0330 by now."_ He replied as they sat at the counter with a pair of noodle bowls waiting for them as their steam raised up to the ceiling. They were the only soles there and Cade slowly picked at his bowl as Danse blankly stared off into space. _"She's very lucky, that Doctor Langdon mush have been a good friend of hers. She'd be dead right now if she hadn't been given that stuff and that note. I wish I knew what was going on exactly."_ He looked over at Danse with a noodle sticking out of his mouth as Danse was now staring down into his food.

 _"Is everything okay?"_ He pulled the noodle into his mouth and wiped his chin when Danse covered his face with one hand and attempted to stop a tear fest from coming on, but it was to no avail. He started to sob gently as Cade patted him on the back. _"Way did this happen to her? She's--she's the nicest person I have even met in my life and she gets to be like this?!"_ He turned away from the doctor as he put his fork down and though about how to answer the hard question. _"Danse--She came here on a mission. She risked her life to get here and now that she's here she can't go back, you saw what happened when she attempted to return, this is not your fault. You can't continue to blame yourself for the misfortunes of those around you or under your command, this is the nature of the job and you need to try and make the best of it. She needs you, I need you and the Brotherhood needs you. Listen she's busted up pretty bad and she's going to need some help when she wakes up. I'm putting her in your care, and I hope that the trust you two have built already will only continue to grow. Please don't be so hard on yourself. Things happen to people all the time, what matters most is you're there for her when she needs you."_ He turned back to his food as Danse wiped his face and they sat, silently eating their dinners.

A couple hours had passed when Elder Maxson slowly made his way into the medical bay to check on her. He felt he was in the way of everything the previous day and since Danse had been there he felt ok with not coming by until now. He gazed upon her as she slept, Danse stood up and walked over next to his friend as they looked at her together. _"Is she going to make it?"_ Maxson asked. _"Yeah, she'll pull through, she's very strong and I know she'll make it."_ They stood there for a minute or two before Maxson motioned Danse to have him follow him to his quarters. Cade watched over his shoulder as they slowly walked away and she started to stir gently in her bed.

They walked quietly into his quarters followed by a slight metal clink as the door latched. Maxson sat down on a chair at the table and Danse sat across from him, they both looked down a single folder laying on the table in front of Maxson. He looked up from it at Danse with a peculiar look over his face. _"Danse these are data analysis records from the mysterious signals you and your team had been receiving these there are also some from the jumps Captain Hulsey had made into this world. They are nearly identical in nature, if she's not working for The Institute then it's very possible that she knows exactly how to get in. She and I had a small discussion already but I need more now, and I understand that she has been placed under your care so--I need you to keep a close eyes on her. When she's well enough there are things that we much discuss and there are other things that are to take place, one thing though. I need something of you."_ This had his attention as he watched Maxson's face change some as their eyes met.

 _"You know you can ask me for anything Arthur. What is it?"_ He asked leaning back in his chair some never breaking eye contact. _"I need you to make sure that she is not a synth."_ Danse was shocked and appalled at what just came out of Maxson's mouth. _"She's not a synth Arthur."_ Danse had become visibly angry at this accusation. Maxson just watched his reaction as he closed the folder and crossed his arms over his chest. _"How can you be so sure Danse?"_ He tested the waters with a slightly irritated tone. Danse leaned forward with a nasty glare over his eyes and locked eyes with Maxson. _"She's not a synth and that's that! You and I are to never discuss this again!"_ Maxson nodded and smiled at something for a moment. _"Okay, she's your responsibility from now on and if I need to call on her I will make sure you are with her, understood?"_ Danse nodded to him as he stood up and started for the door. _"Danse--I didn't mean to ask like this but if by chance you two get together, I'll have all the proof I need to make sure she's human and not one of them. I hope you understand where I'm coming from."_ Danse let his hand rest on the door knob for a second as he looked at the floor. _"I understand Arthur. I'll keep you informed."_ He unlatched the door and left Maxson sitting in his quarters alone, contemplating his next move.

The night had been rough on everyone, she was now starting to wake in the med bay as Cade watched over her. She knew there would be another try at this world, she had to tell Maxson why she was there in the first place and attempt to stop the government from sending anyone else into the system. This game they were playing was an all or nothing scenario leaving no witnesses and no winners if everything had gone south. She wasn't sure if she could trust him though, she needed to talk to Paladin Danse first about it, get off the Prydwen where there was some privacy and get things out into the open. It was only a matter of time before 'others' would come and take what they wanted from this place, no matter the cost.

Danse stood out on the flight deck alone, listening to the little radio as the sun rose up over the horizon. He felt the pain she had endured getting back to them and the trust issues that Elder Maxson held as he had signals analyzed for his different theories. He was falling for her and she wasn't aware of how he felt, not yet anyway. He wasn't one for rejection and he held a fear for that very thing deep down inside. He wanted to be there for her no matter what and now he felt the need more than ever. He reflected on what Cade had told him and had a curiosity for the contents of the bag he now wore for her as a new dawn met the day, warming his face and kissing his brown eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos if you liked it. Thanks!


	9. Forces with Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the truth can hurt, others times it can kill but in a very great once in a while it can shed the every light needed to create another path. A path of opportunity if those that walk it have no fear for the journey that lies ahead.

Another day had to pass before Cade felt it was okay for Paladin Danse to take Captain Hulsey off the Prydwen. She had become suspicious of Elder Maxson as she was continually catching him watching her at different times. It made her uneasy and she didn't feel safe there any longer. She knew Danse wasn't far away at any moment but she didn't feel strong enough to go against Maxson, and the amount of stitches in her body made her feel very stiff. She thought better of her judgments and kept herself hidden away until the opportunity of escape presented itself.

Cade spoke in length with Danse about how to pull the stitches if they didn't return in time for him to do it and procedures if she pulled stitches on accident. He also spoke to her at length about movements she couldn't do for about a week and that Danse was going to help her with everything so her had better suck it up and just go along with it, it wasn't worth fighting over. She reluctantly agreed to the terms and Cade assured her that everything would be fine as she was placed under Danse's wing. She knew she would be fine, she worried about Danse and came to the realization that they were both in the same boat on the long haul, their fates were now completely intertwined with each other. She was protecting him as much as he was protecting her.

All she could think about was getting off the air ship. Elder Mason was acting like a creep towards her after the reinsertion and Paladin Danse was doing his best to keep her out of his sight after the allegations he started towards her, he too wanted to leave, desperately. Cade gave Danse a small bag of medical supplies that morning as she entered the medical bay in the new officer uniform that Teagan had given her. None of the other uniforms fit so she had to be made as an exception to having the black officer uniform, both Danse and Cade looked at her as she stood against the door opening. She took the sling off of her arm and flexed her fingers to make sure she still had good circulation. Cade watched Danse smile at her and blush slightly as she paid no attention as she ran her hands over the fabric of the new jumpsuit. _"You like it then I take it?"_ Danse asked snapping the silence. She slowly looked up at him as she hand brushed off the sleeve. _"Yeah I do, it's a hell of a lot more comfortable than the nano suit for sure. Thanks for this you guys."_ She said walking over to Cade and shaking his hand. _"You are very welcome my dear and come back to visit even if it's just for me will you."_ He smiled as the shook hands and she nodded, chuckled some as Danse slung the rucksack over his back and they started to leave for the flight deck.

As she followed Danse closely they both saw Elder Maxson, waiting near the ladders with his back turned to them, and they frozen in their tracks immediately. Danse swallowed hard as she breathed slowly they both instinctively started walking in that direction at the same cadence. Maxson turned as the footsteps approached and he looked them both up and down. He had a very strange look on his face before he smiled slightly, the curl only on one side of his face. Danse didn't like this as he positioned himself squarely in front of his gaze as she stood behind him in an attempt to keep from making eye contact.

 _"Where are you two off to this morning?"_ He acted as if he were surprised they were leaving. Danse sighed slightly before his reply. _"We are going to train out in the field, her injuries need to heal so light duty training will be okay at this point."_ He stood rigid against Maxson as his gaze was peering around at the Captain. _"Oh, I see. Well--don't get hurt any further and I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon. Very soon."_ Danse nodded to him as he let Terra get on the ladder first without breaking eye contact with him. _"Elder."_ Terra said as she started down the ladder, _"Captain."_ He replied to her still burning Danse with his glare. Danse got on the ladder and was right behind Terra as fast as humanly possible. He started goosing her down the hallway to the door to the outside and as they opened the door to the flight deck the sun spilled in all around them as they dash out into it. They ran to the vertibird, jumped on it and were launched away from the air ship.

They both stood at the open side door and watched the landscape below change. She had no idea where she was going but that really didn't matter much, just as long as it was away from Elder Maxson and his twisted thoughts. As the vertibird banked around towards the west Danse slightly fell against her back, even though he pulled himself back from her the warmth was still evident. She felt free for the first time since she could remember, no government front man looking over her shoulder at every chance, no next mission, and no return.

They flew a considerable distance away from the air ship and she smiled as it began to get small off in the distance. They slowly hovered around to a landing position and she fell out of the vertibird trying to get off on her own. Danse was making a fair attempt at not laughing until she started laughing at herself on the ground and he lost his composure as the vertibird flew away. She looked up at him and then up at the clear blue sky for a moment as he stopped laughing and watched her. _"Okay, please help me I can't get up."_ She held her left hand up as he slowly pulled her to her feet and she winched holding her right side. _"Are you okay, did you pull something?"_ He asked very concerned. She nodded her head and slowly replied. _"I'm fine, one of the stitches got caught on the inside of the uniform but I'll be fine."_ She pulled her hand away from the fabric and looked for blood, nothing there. Danse motioned for her to follow and they began to walk out to the west and in the distance was on old shack.

They slowly made their way inside the shack and she leaned against the doorway with a confused look on her face. _"What the hell are we doing here?"_ She looked around the place for anything obvious when he opened the hatch to the underground military installation. He smiled as he looked down the ladder and she walked over with a severe limp and peered down herself. _"Huh? Well you're just full of surprises aren't you?"_ She smiled and looked back a him. _"I try sometimes."_ He motioned for her to start down first and she very carefully with one hand lowered down the ladder. He slid down and secured the hatch before they started deeper into the complex, it reminded her of the maintenance tunnels inside the pentagon and bad memories started to crop up in her mind.

She stopped for a moment and slapped her forehead to make them stop. He looked back at her as she stood up straight again and followed him down the hallway to an overlook railing to see most of the complex below. _"How did you find this place?"_ She looked down and then over at him as he looked down into the complex. _"I come here to be alone and think. I found it during a patrol, nobody else knows about this place but you and I, to my knowledge. It's the most secure location I could think of and I feel safe here."_ He looked back at her for a bit of approval. She nodded and smiled as they started to walk down the stairs to a place they could call home.

There was some rearranging to do but after a few hours they made one room like a living room, chairs, sofa, table and a radio on a shelf. The kitchen was working, a gas line still functioned so that was great and they fixed the water heater for showers. They made the bedroom in the next room over but they were only able to find enough bedding for one bed. She wasn't feeling very well when she slowly slumped onto the sofa, her right side was beating to its own melody of pain as the healing process was taking place and exhaustion was starting to creep up on her. She was starting to fall asleep when Danse came over to her and gently sat on the sofa next to her. He wanted to touch her but he was very nervous, and he really wanted to talk to her. Cade had given him some cream antibiotics to put on the stitches and it was time to put it on.

He gently placed his hand on her left shoulder and slid it down he arm before taking his hand away quickly. _"Terra?"_ He was so shy that she almost didn't hear him but she certainly felt his hand on her. _"Huh?"_ She grunted not moving. _"I--I um,--"_ She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder at him, he was sweating and had unlatched the collar on his uniform before catching her gaze. She nodded at him as he swallowed and started again. _"Excuse me, I need to put the antibiotic cream on your wounds per Captain Cade."_ She laid her head back down and sighed. _"Rrrrr."_ She grumbled, _"I don't want to."_ She was so tired he knew not to push the envelope too much but Cade insisted that it be done. _"Please, Terra."_ She snorted and slowly pushed herself up to sit almost on his lap. _"Fine, hurry up and get it over with."_ She looked right into his eyes and he shuttered for a second right before he stood up to retrieve the stuff from the bag that sat on the floor across the room.

She could only use her left arm at that point so she unlatched the collar on her uniform and started to unzip it when Danse snapped his head around at the sound of the zipper and stared at her. _"What?"_ She asked as he turned red and went back into the bag. She squinted her eyes and unzipped it to her naval as he searched the bag. She couldn't get her arm out of the uniform without a great deal of pain when she noticed the dried blood on her stomach. _"Aw shit."_ She whispered to herself as Danse had the tube in his hand and was walking back over to her. She was reaching around in her uniform when part of her breast started to show and he blushed brighter than before. She looked up as he stood there with his mouth partially open. _"Really?! Are you just going to stand there like that?!"_ He snapped out of it and she took her hand out of the uniform and glared at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." He apologized with his big brown puppy dog eyes and assisted getting the top of the uniform off without fussing too much. One of the stitches had pulled free but it healed over on her side. She had over 175 stitches in all, most of the right arm and her right side from where the nano suit had degraded and buried itself in her skin during the transition state. He put some of the stuff on his finger and gently placed in over the pulled stitch and she twitched violently away from him. _"Yikes! Warm that up would ya it's freakin cold!!"_ He pulled back quickly and gritted his teeth. _"I'm sorry I'll be right back."_ He dashed away into the kitchen and ran to tube under hot water for a few second before returning. _"Here let's try this again."_ He put some on the next set of stitches and it wasn't so bad. She laid back against the sofa as he applied the stuff to her skin and she started to relax some.

He finally finished and started to put the uniform back on her when she pushed it away. _"I don't want it, just hand me a shirt to put over myself please."_ He stood up and nodded. Returning to the bag on the floor he pulled out a grey Air Force workout shirt and handed it to her. She gently pulled at it trying to get it on when he pulled it over her head for her. _"Thanks."_ She replied as she brushed it down. _"No problem."_ He smiled, tossed the tube in her and went back into the kitchen. She sat there listening to him making food and it made her feel special. _'He's making me food, he's taking care of me and I never asked him for anything. He's so nice, I wish he was--'_ He thought snapped off as he entered the room with two bowls of noodles, handed her one and he plopped down next to her and started to eat. She examined the food before eating. _"Thank you Danse, this is very kind of you."_ He smiled at her, _"You are always welcome. I just want to be there for you like you were for me, you're my best friend and I want you to know that."_ She smiled as she started to eat the hot food. _'Best friend, huh? I have a feeling that's a tiny little white lie that's not completely untrue but pushing it.'_ He thoughts swirled in her mind as she eat and thought about Danse.

Danse went to sleep first on the makeshift bed and she laid there watching the ceiling talk to her. She needed to read the other letters in her bag and look at what Janet stuffed in there. She glanced over at Danse, he was smiling in his sleep as he rolled onto his side facing away from her and started snoring. She looked back the ceiling and chuckled gently, he must have felt really safe there to sleep like that. He was tired himself and she felt it best to slowly slip into the other room and let him bask in his dreams for once.

She slowly lowered herself to her knees on the floor with her bag. She flopped the top open and dumped the contents across the floor. Her laptop, the external hard drive, charging cables for everything, a solar cell for power conversion, a Fallout 4 game guide, several letters in their envelops and other clothes, ammo and her beloved pistol in its holster. Her fingers brushed the brown leather as she pulled it to the side, she grabbed the letters and the game guide. She shoved everything else back into the bag and slowly crawled up onto the couch with her presents. She held the first letter in her hand it was addressed simply _'Terra'_ and had a number one circled on the upper left corner.

She opened it with her finger and slid the letter out of the envelop. It read as follows:

 

_'Terra,_

_That government man can't be trusted, he's doing so very unethical things around here including tampering with your Nano suit. I caught him in the lab the other night, I have no idea what he was doing there, but please for the love of god, be careful. He's dangerous and he's been threatening some of us here._

_Janet'_

 

She was confused by this letter, it was old news, so she opened the next letter in the set of three.

 

_'Terra,_

_Listen, that man he has been pulling dirt on everyone here. I have no clue what he's up too but I think that he's going to make sure that you stay in the system, indefinitely. I looked him up in the system using a finger print I swiped from a glass and he's a bad dude. He was involved in some other experiments that killed EVERYONE in the lab back in the seventies, but here's the creepy part he has NO NAME. I hope that he doesn't have something crazy on you otherwise all this wouldn't matter, please take care._

_Janet'_

 

This made her even more confused so she opened the last letter and now she was concerned.

 

_'Terra,_

_I hope this letter reaches you at some point shortly after you enter the system again. You HAVE TO READ THAT GUIDE, don't bat your eyes and slick you tongue out. Your life depends on the information in that book because you can change the events in the system. I understand that you can never come back but that man has activated the Global Task Force system. It's only a matter of time before they come into the system and try to take the technology from the game back here. They WILL try and kill you Terra, so they can collapse that world, you have to use the technology there to stop them, because once they set foot in your new domain they are fair game. READ IT, DO IT NOW and fight for the future!_

_Godspeed Terra,_

_Your friend Janet'_

 

Her hands started shaking, she knew what this meant and it was very bad. She now had a huge task at hand with an unknown timeline for execution. Her hands slowly dropped the letter on the floor as she eyes looked over at the game guide. She licked her lips and grabbed the guide over to her. As she flipped through it so found the information on Danse, her heart sank as she read about a quest called Blind Betrayal. _"No way! No fucking way!"_ She blurted it out and immediately covered her mouth as she started to cry and kick the couch at the same time. She started flipping through it as the tears stopped when she had a plan, _"I CAN CHANGE THE PATTERN OF EVENTS I HAVE THE FUCKING GAME GUIDE!"_ She started looking through intensely, a boy named Shaun, and all these little thing she had to do to get to The Institute. She looked up from the guide and smiled evilly, Elder Maxson will never know about him, he will never find out about himself and I will stop the government from getting their slimy hands on shit that doesn't belong in the other world.

She took the guide and slammed it into the bag when she saw her watch sticking out of the front pocket, she slowly removed it and put it on her right wrist. The blackbird watch had been a gift from a Colonel that saved her life at its darkest, and he cherished it very much. Danse had woken up from his slumber and was now standing in the doorway looking over at her as she sat on the floor at her bag. She didn't even look up at him, _"Good morning sunshine."_ She said taking down the time and it was morning about 0745. _"Good morning."_ He replied through a yawn as he slid into the room and she stood up looking at him. _"Did you have a good sleep?"_ She asked as he smiled at her. _"Yes I did. I haven't slept like that in years, thank you for noticing."_ She giggled a little as he yawned again. _"You need some coffee, come on let's get some."_ She led him into the kitchen and made him some coffee. _"You had wanted to talk to me about something back at the police station when we got interrupted. I want to hear what you have to say and I'll talk to you too. Tonight, I'll explain later but it's important."_ He nodded, _"Okay. Thanks for the coffee, It's good."_ He looked in the cup and drank the last of it.

 _"You are welcome. I have to take a shower and wash my hair, I need you to help me though. Are you okay with that?"_ She asked as she started to walk that direction. _"I'll be okay. I need one too so we can just share the water if you don't mind."_ She tilted her head to the side and shrugged. _"Sure lets go."_

She limped off down the hallway as Danse got some clothes out of his bag and followed her into the shower. She slowly pulled the uniform off and kicked it across the floor to the wall, as to not get it wet and Danse walked in just as she started the water, standing there naked. He blushed right away and walked into the room behind her too hide his red face. She got into the water and leaned against the wall with her hands letting the water flow over her back and her long black hair. She had burn scars on her lower back along with other jagged scars over her shoulder and down the back of her left arm. He recognized that she had seen her fair deal of shit in her life and decided not to ask questions. She was lean and beautiful to him and he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of her.

She started washing with the soap bar and the fragrance filled the room with its nice lavender scent as he slowly stepped into the water behind her. _"Right behind ya."_ Said as she almost elbowed him. _"Copy that."_ She replied with her eyes closed as she started to rinse off and he took the bar of soap from the shelf and washed himself behind her as she turned around and soaked her hair. He switched placed with her and rinsed off himself when she handed him a bottle of shampoo. He started to wash her hair for her and she stood very still for him. _"This smells so nice, is it okay if I use some?"_ He asked as he finished scrubbing her scalp with his fingertips. _"Sure that's what it's for."_ She smiled as they switched places again and she rinsed her hair out. He washed his hair as she was almost done with hers and she bumped into him with her soft rear end. _"Sorry."_ She said going back into the water. _"No problem."_ He smiled as he put his head in the water. They had finished the conditioner part of each other's hair and they now stood out of the shower toweling off, he never thought he could be so comfortable around anyone, especially a woman like her, and they took a shower at the same time! He was starting to feel comfortable around like she was a part of him and that scared him some, what if something happened to her, could he ever stop blaming himself at that point? No he wasn't going to think like that, nothing was going to happen to her and he would make damn sure of it.

They cleaned their guns most of that day, laid them out on a table in one of the rooms to dry out some and it had now turned evening. She looked at her watch and it said 2035, she took a double take and sighed. He looked over at her as she let her arm hang at her side. _"What's wrong?" He asked sweetly. "It's time for something very important to me, come on."_ She motioned for him to follow her into the next room. She reached into her bag, pulled out a brown leather patch clad flight jacket and in it were very expensive cigars. She pulled out two of them, handed one to Danse and tossed the jacket on the couch. She sat on the couch and lit the cigar, he sat next to her and she lit his as well. As she started to take the lighter away he saw it had the Brotherhood emblem on it. _"Where did you get that?"_ She laid it on the table as she took in a long drag. _"My friend Janet had it made for me."_ He nodded as took a drag off of his. _"So why do you do this, what's the occasion?"_ He looked at the cigar and started to drag off of it again.

 _"Well--"_ She leaned forward and tapped the end of the cigar into a tin can. _"This a way that a group of us remembered fallen brothers and sisters from a tragedy called 9/11. I was still working in the fire service when that happened and it was very scary for the nation at the time. You know what that is right?"_ She glanced over at him as the blank look in his gave him away. _"No I'm sorry I haven't heard about that."_ She laid back into the couch with the cigar clenched between her teeth and started. _"Well long story short okay, It was September 11th 2001, at about 0545 Pacific Time when some terrorist's from, the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda, flew passenger airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and passengers from another plane crashed their flight on the way to the White House. About 3,000 people died that day, including 343 firefighters trying to save people from the fires that were started in the towers in New York City. We remember them because it's the right thing to do."_ She sat there looking off into space as she remembered the event and watched it unfold again in her fading memories. He looked at her and sighed. _"I'm sorry, I had never heard that. Thank you for informing me."_ She nodded as she set the cigar on the edge of the table. _"It's all old history now, that's when I was transferred from reserve duty to active duty for the air force. They started flying the B-52's over the Persian Gulf and I soon found myself behind the yoke of one. Carpet bombing the hell of them for what they did to our country, but that's when all the trouble in my life started."_ Her fingers were tapping across her chest nervously as she twisted her lips and held back all her anger.

Danse watched her as the rage slowly came up her neck stopping at the base of her throat and her tongue hurt as she held it back. She took another drag on the cigar as Danse thought about how to say his piece he had wanted to tell her before she left. _"I'm sorry Terra, you can tell me if you want to but I'm not going to pry at you. I just hope that you realize that."_ She nodded to him as she started to relax again. _"I wanted to talk to you about me, my experiences in the Brotherhood and other things if that's okay with you."_ He rolled the cigar between his fingers as he looked down at the ground. _"You know you tell me anything Danse, don't be shy, go ahead."_ She thought she knew what he was going to say after reading the guide but what came out of his mouth surprised her. He did talk about his life in the Capital Wasteland, Paladin Kreig and Cutler. He watched her take in all the information when she responded, _"Paladin Kreig sounded very hard to deal with but you learned your entire foundation from him, he was a good man an excellent soldier and although he was hard as hell on you look at yourself, you are an excellent leader Danse, don't even mistake that for anything else. As for Cutler, I'm sorry about what happened to him. I wish there had been a way to save him but I understand that sometimes it's the right thing to do, just to let them go."_ He got a strange look in his eye as she said that.

 _"What do you do when you're not sure what the right thing is?"_ She blew the smoke out of her lungs and looked over at him for a few seconds again before forming the right words to say. _"Well...that depends, there's many variables in any given situation but you have to make that choice on your own. Call it a gut feeling, or a hunch, but in the end that decision, no matter the outcome, is something that you have to live with for the rest of your life. That right there is the very basis of the right and wrong scales in my mind. Tip it one way it's all wrong, the other it's all right and there will always be a balance, the best of both. So things are easier than others Danse, but in the end if a decision has to be made, use that as a basis for everything and you'll come on the right side every time. That's what I was taught by a very old military leader myself, Colonel Lawson. One of the best military minds I could have ever found in my life and at the worst time of it too."_ She put her cigar out in the tin can on the table and laid back against the couch again. She was going to tell him what happened, someone had to know the truth and it might as well have been him. He watched her very carefully as she thought about the entire thing and how she was going to put it, no slants, no angles, just straight up bluntly, as it happened.

 _"Danse, I'm going to tell you something that happened to me over a decade ago that damn near ruined my career and my life all at once. Needless to say many things in my life have been tiny compared to this single event that changed the course of everything in have done since that time. I was a young dumb kid, I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life and at that time I was still involved with the fire service some and the air force had jerked me into active duty. I had a pilot's license before this so it made sense to throw me into bomber school and of course I made it and started missions over the combat zone. I was assigned to a crew and after about 900 hours I was promoted again and made a flight commander, lead pilot. My co-pilot, his name was John McKeenly. I should have known better but I naive and didn't think he would betray me the way he did. That man was a piece of shit and I should have killed him myself but thinking back on it now I'm glad I didn't. We had been deployed to Iran and it had been over eight months over there when we were ordered to bring our crew and plane back to the states for other assignments. I was being transferred to the test pilot branch for an upgrade and John was going to get his commander wings after that. It was all sent so I thought. After we landed in Virginia we had a layover so we all went out to celebrate all of the success and transfers. Well I made the mistake of going with him to the officers club where he met a group of officers, they were waiting for us and he was way too happy to see them there. One of them was a general, he was real prick, with a nasty, rude mouth on him."_ She bunched up the stomach of her uniform in her fist as she ground her teeth together and Danse knew this was going to be a story with a very bad ending.

_"We had a lot of drinks, and they got me drunk which was fairly easy since I didn't drink at all, but it was John that drugged me. He didn't want me to fight with him and he put a fucking rufilin in my drink. I tasted it but I thought it was just the drink so I paid little attention, that was my fault. The next thing I remember we had been in a taxi cab and now we were going into a hotel somewhere, it was very ritzy and John was half carrying my ass as we were all stumbling around to the elevator. I guess I was strong enough to slap the General's hand away from me over and over when the Colonel got between me and him. What awaited us in that room was, well enough to make you puke for next hundred years. They had no respect for women, they thought we all a joke or a sex toy for them to enjoy. John was in on the whole thing, and the Colonel, they tied him up next to me and held him at gun point. Those fuckers laughed at us, we were the only ones that weren't 'invited' to the party, we were the party. I will spare you the details but let's just say they made us do things we didn't want to do and they all did what they wanted to me, I didn't matter to any of them but that Colonel. They forced him to watch and after they were all done they forced him to do it to me as well. They were going to shoot him but I made him conform, it wasn't worth ending your life over. So after that they were all spent and the Colonel and I escaped the hotel in the early morning hours. I ended up in the hospital the next morning, they flushed out my system and well, they had to stitch me up some but I survived. We reminded friends for a long time after that, his wife was the kindest woman I have ever met but sadly they both passed away about three years ago. They were up there in age and I hope that they found peace after all that shit. Me on the other hand, I have not and maybe I never will but I have satisfaction that someone else alive knows what happened. I have no love life because of it, I have no feelings like that towards anyone because of it and I have a very deep hate for people that can never be erased. So pulling the trigger for me is easy, I stopped looking at my target and all I see are their faces when I do it. It doesn't make it right the only thing that it does is make it numb. At least that's what I have told myself over the years. I don't know maybe someday I'll figure it all out, maybe not. One thing I can't understand is why I can let you get close to me, even touch me and I don't try and kill you. If you were any other man I would have shot the shit out of you by now, but you're different Danse. I trust you more than anyone else in my life, that isn't an easy thing for me and I hope that you respect that."_

He was appalled by that entire situation, what they did to her, what happened and there was no consequences afterwards. He realized that she trusted enough to make sure he understood her and that was very special to him. _"Thank you telling me Terra, I respect that very much and you have earned my respect as well. We are both so screwed up but together we're not broken anyone. I'm lucky to have met you and to have you at my side."_ She smiled at that, it was so true and genuine. _"Yeah me too. I'm very happy to have someone like you Danse. As long as I'm alive I will make sure that we stick it out and fix each other if nothing else."_ She patted his shoulder as she stood up. _"I have something else to tell you Danse, and I understand what it will sound like but you have to believe me when I say it because it's the truth. I will never lie to you Danse and that's a promise I will keep."_ She turned around and at on the coffee table in front of him, facing him and looking into his eyes. _"Danse, my mission here was to steal technology and bring it back to the other side to be reverse engineered and used by our military for global dominance. The same men that made me into a party favor are the ones in charge of this scheme. I was tasked with obtaining everything I could in two or three trips and then I was supposed to destroy this entire environment. I was sent here on a dishonest premise and now I will change all the events in this system of things to make sure certain aspects never come to light. There are a few things that you have to understand, this place, before I came here, it wasn't real, it was a video game inside of a quantum computer and when I made contact here it became its own world, it became real."_ He looked at her as if she was crazy, his eyes were wide and his mouth slowly gaped open. _"Now that I can't leave I change things in this environment, I can make things happen that couldn't have before and now I am in control of this place but you and I have to be on the same page. You and I are the only ones that can know any of this do you understand?"_ He nodded his head and watched her expression change.

 _"Danse I have to tell you something devastating about yourself. Elder Maxson and the Brotherhood will never gain this knowledge but I feel you need to because it's the right thing to do. You are a synth. I took some of your hair back to my people and they found you to be human, but the guide says you are a synth. The game guide tells me all the information about everyone and everything here, it's like a technical manual about this place and everyone in it. I will go to The Institute and destroy the files they have on you and make sure that no one else finds out the truth about you. If you trust me then you will let me do this, Maxson has no right to act like god and if he found out about this he would send me to kill you. I'm not going to do that, instead I'm going to take you to The Institute when the time comes and make sure you have everything to function as a man. My understanding of synths is that they can't have children and I know Maxson thinks I'm a synth already, so with that said, I will make sure you can have kids if you want them. On our side of this dimension we are working on synths and the doctor there has given me some documents to take to The Institute for this procedure but only if it's what you want."_ She locked eyes with him as he started to break apart inside, he was a synth, everything he had and every thought he had was over. He started to cry when she got on his lap and held him.

 _"I'm--I'm an abomination!--No! I--I Can't believe it!"_ He wrapped his arms around her and bawled out loudly. He cried so hard into her uniform that it was soaked with his tears and his nose was running over his face. She wiped his face off with her sleeve and he looked up into her eyes as they glittered and spoke to him. _"Do it. No one else ever needs to know this and I want you to take me to The Institute for the procedure. I want to be me, not a synth, and I never want to look back afterwards." He slammed his face back into her chest and sobbed. She held his head and cooed him as she ran her fingers through his hair. "You got it Danse. Whatever you want, if I can facilitate it, it's yours."_ They held each other for a long time before he finally pulled back from her chest and they stood up to go to the shower.

He wanted to tell her so much more, he was in love with her and now he knew where she stood, she would kill for him, protect him and it was even possible that she loved him even, no not possible, it was completely unmistakably true!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're on the edge of seat! Leave kudos if you liked it!! Yes I made a mention of another reference so just be prepared also before you leave a comment thanks!


	10. A simple leap of Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love, a fine thing of beauty if you know where to find it. Taking trust to a new level to feel alive and to feel wanted in so many ways. It's the devotion of a lifetime that makes one take that first leap.

She let him get a shower while she took her uniform off and dressed into some workout gear. She needed to get her laptop working and look at what Janet put on it. She liked music very much and so she set the laptop up in the living room area on the coffee table. She opened the silver lid and the fans ran up on the system. It was a large framed laptop made for high performance with a full size keyboard that changed colors, the system was ready and she put in the password starting the programs. She put on some music as she heard Danse still showering and starting going through the emails saved on her hard drive by her friend. All the operations on the global task force were there, manuals, synth technology sets, another digital game guide, and some emails about how to wreck the system and lock them out of it altogether.

Danse slowly strolled into the room in a fresh set of workout clothes and sat down next to her as the dubstep violin music played on. _"Terra,"_ He started brushing his hair with his hand. _"Are you sure this is going to work?"_ She smiled and looked over at him. _"Yes, sir. I'm one hundred percent positive. Maxson trusts you, you have known him for a very long time, and need his help. We are going to war with a group that is hell bent on killing everyone here, including Maxson. I'm the only one that knows how to stop them and we all have to be ready when they show up."_ She showed Danse some of the emails about how the Global Task Force Teams were to deploy to this side and take everything and kill everyone. He looked back at her with major concern over his face. _"As you can see this is bigger than just you and I or even the Brotherhood and The Institute. This involves every living thing here. We have to set a plan in motion to stop it now, we don't know how much time we will have and we don't know how much fire power they will be bringing with them."_

Danse nodded as he started to think about something in the back of his mind. He stood up as she turned the music off and closed the lid to the laptop. They walked into the bedroom as he flopped down on the bed and looked up at her and she smiled. _"I have to take a shower, I'll be right back okay."_ He smiled and nodded as she turned walked away. As the water started he got back up and returned to the laptop to play some more music. He liked it very much, it reminded him of the night they were looking up at the sky. He liked it so much that he laid on the floor and watched the ceiling as it played on. Terra walked out of the shower and heard the music playing and started chuckling to herself. She put her workout clothes back on and found Danse humming to the music on the living room floor. He looked over at her as she stood in the doorway and he got up stopping the music. _"I want to try something, for you."_ He said as he took her hands and pulled her into the bedroom. _"Okay."_ She with some uncertainty as she laid down on the bed on her back and Danse slowly laid down on top of her without putting weight on her right side.

 _"I--I want to help you. I was with a woman once that taught me everything I know about women and giving them pleasure. She thought that I was too handsome to waste my entire life without ever learning that and finding the right girl to give it to when the time came. She wasn't the one but she knew what she was doing and I will forever be thankful to her for that, she died some time ago and here I am still looking until now. I will go at your pace, if you don't like it or don't want to just say the word. I would never force you to do anything you didn't want to, I mean that. This war that is going to happen, it might turn ugly and people will get hurt. I want to get a chance to show you that I love you Terra."_ She smiled as she watched his lips speaking the words. _"I fell for you in that night on the catwalk Danse. I have waited a long time for someone like you and I will never let anything come between us or tear us apart. I'm so in love with you that I don't know what would happen if you didn't feel the same way."_ He smiled and had a plan forming in his head. _"Do you want me to give you pleasure?"_ He whispered gently. _"Yes, I do."_ Her reply was so soft that he felt his heart flutter.

He slowly lowered himself down and kissed he lips gently. She clenched the bedding with her palms downwards as he kissed her again with closed lips. Still no response, he tried a risky maneuver and he licked her lower lip and kissed her again. He pulled back, her eyes were closed and her moist lips were partly open. He liked the way she looked in that moment, she had started to let go. He was angry that those men had raped her and treated her like that, it was no wonder she had been inactive for so long, that she was afraid and disconnected. He connected with her and he wanted her to feel comfort in his arms, he didn't want to screw this up with her so he held back on his bodily urges to grind into her. He lowered himself down further to where he was making contact chest to chest and he kissed her again, his tongue slowly mapping the inside of her mouth and gently sucking on her lower lip. She let go of the bedding and her breathing had ramped up some, almost nervous but she was still trying to be relaxed. He moved in for another pass and slowly ran his tongue under hers and over the top again before pulling back to take another look at her.

She was still hiding in her shell, he was attempting to coax her out but if this next move didn't work he was at a loss as to what to do. He didn't want her to hold back, and she didn't want to either but it was like a flood gate that rusted shut, it had to be broken down. This time he took his hand and ran it over her cheek gently and cupped the back of her neck. He kissed her again this time he hooked the tip of his tongue and drug it across the roof of her mouth fairly hard and she snapped her arms around him. Her right hand squeezed his lower back and her left was now at the back of his head and he slowly laid his body weight over her. She hummed gently as she twisted her tongue around his and gently rolled her body into him. _'Oh there you are. You taste so sweet and your lips are so soft, I had no idea you would feel this good with me._ ' His thoughts swirled his mind as he kissed her deeper and squeezed her gently.

They made out, their tongues flicking at each other, wrapping each other they passed into each other's mouths and they hummed in unison at the way they felt to each other. He got her out of her shell, she held him as he held her and they we entwined into each other so perfectly. He sucked on her lower lip again as he pulled back and started kissing her on the neck. He knew there were 'soft spots' on everyone, and he thought it would be on her neck where the shoulder met and so he kissed and sucked on her hard enough to make her gasp. She laid her head over to the side and he kept sucking on her as she started to grind into him and moan out gently. It must have felt pretty good as she squeezed him and wrapped one leg over his and he started to grind back into her, rolling his hips like the waves of the ocean lapping against the shore.

He didn't think that she wanted to have sex this fast but he would keep his promise and if she wanted him right now he'd give himself to her. He ripped his shirt off, wiped the sweat off his chest and chucked it away. She did the same and he was now looking squarely at her small tight breasts with their erect nipples, the small almost none existent pieces of steel through them, and her six pack of a stomach. He knew she was built but damn it made him even harder to look at her like this. She was so much better than he thought she would look, in love, waiting for him to prompt her and make her his. He'd seen her before but he never really looked, he thought it would have been distasteful at the time, but now he was glad he was looking. She laid there and closed her eyes as he swept his finger tips over her breasts and down her torso. She shuttered slightly and her skin gave way to goosebumps as his soft fingers fleeted over her smooth skin.

It had only been eight days since they had come there together to get off the Prydwen and away from Elder Maxson. They went from first base to home run pretty quickly as things in their relationship progressed. She wanted him in the worst way, it had been over a decade and after feeling dead for so long it was a true test of time to feel alive in the arms of man she hardly knew but felt she had knew a lifetime. They were healing each other, he felt the same way, after so long he finally found someone like him, alone and longing for something real. There was so much at stake that it made him realize what she meant to him, she was his other half, she made him feel complete and they were meant for each other. He was very nervous, he knew her past and he didn't want to screw this up. He wasn't doing this for himself, he wanted to do everything for her and it was ultimately his gift to her. He was very calm with her, gentle as they kissed so deeply, and she responded in kind back to him.

He slowly started to work down her neck to her chest. He slowly kissed he skin, gentle like the wind as he traveled across her plains. She shook gently but did not tremble under his touch as it seemed to be a new experience for her. She was extremely sensitive to touch, his soft lips were warm and moist making her feel free having him like this. He couldn't believe how willing she was to try and overcome everything that had happened before and he felt honored as he moved over her. He slowly kissed her breast and took her steel adorned nipple into his mouth and very gently sucked on it. She took in a deep breath as he slid one hand in between her shoulder blades to hold her and softly placed his other on her side. He was happy that they were alone in there, no one to judge them for their acts as he made love to her, he knew she was going to loud but it couldn't be helped. It made him feel good about himself holding a beautiful woman in his arms to make her scream and moan at what he was doing to her, deep in pleasure and nothing else. She told him how she made her mind like a personal prison for her thoughts, locked herself up and tossed the key somewhere. He wanted to let her out into his world and now he had every opportunity.

He rolled the steel around in his mouth carefully not to pull on it very hard as she ran one of her hands through his hair and shifted around in his arms. He was driving her crazy as she slowly ran her nails from her other hand swiftly across his back making him shiver. He knew she could be an excellent lover if he helped her. He slowly started to move to her other nipple when she started taking her workout shorts off and kicked them off the bed. He ran his hand from her side down her hips and discovered she was naked underneath him. Her skin was so soft he just wanted to stroke her like she was a cat and she purred as his warm hand took a gentle glide over her. Her skin was radiant, it was a pale yet bronzed white tone, and her lean body mass made her curves become even more accentuated. She watched him a for moment as he pulled her other nipple into his mouth and sucked on her, tossing her head back and crying out softly. He loved the feel of the steel rings over his tongue as he played with the ball and sucked on her at the same time. He had never known anyone that had body piercings before.

He stopped playing with those for now and started his way down her body, licking her skin around her naval before sticking the tip of his tongue in her belly button. He put both of his hands on her oblique's and kissed his way down to her patch of dark hair at her groin. He laid his head against her inner thigh and ran his hand down the inside of the other one whilst watching her expression. His face was soft and he liked how she closed her eyes and laid back, stopping her watch on him finally. He felt her body slowly relax as gently ran his smooth hands over her tender skin, feeling a deep intimacy with her, a great devotion of emotional relaxation and affection. He looked up at her as she licked her lips with her face out to the ceiling, eyes closed. _"Are you sure this what you want?"_ He asked still gently running his hand over her skin, watching the goosebumps rise as she took in a deep breath and formed a reply in her mind. _"Yes Danse, it is and I want you to give it to me, all of it."_ This got his attention very quickly as he kissed the inside of her thigh. _"Okay, I'll give it to you."_ He replied between kisses and he positioned himself to go down her comfortably.

He looked at her well kept lady parts, the erection she had for him and how sweet her taste would be when he made her have a glass shattering multiple orgasm. She was so swollen and wet from all his foreplay that he just wanted to dive right into her. He ever so slowly laid his tongue onto her nerve center and she rolled into him with her hips as she rolled her head back into the soft sheets of the bed. She started gasping, twitching and moaning ever so gently as he swept his tongue around her sweet hard spot in the center of her body making her rise and fall like the tide. She was so very sweet, a tame, dark nectar that was erotic in nature hidden deep inside her body and he wanted it. He got a glimpse of it here and there as she let go time and time again releasing hints to him of its presence. He wanted her to cum for him so bad that he started to part her moist lips with his tongue and flick at the inner folds of her tight pussy as she squeezed him hard each time he took a pass at her.

He was having a tough time holding himself back from all her involuntary movements, feeling his own urges causing pressure throughout his body pushing his desire to a higher limit. He was a big guy and wanted to enjoy her not injure her. This was a complicated time, war was coming from an unknown enemy and now they were both tangled up in each other. He didn't want to complicate things, she didn't want to lose this opportunity and they both fell deep into the thoughts they had harbored for each other. No more conditions, no strings, just the beauty of unconditional emotional love making. He slowly slid his tongue into her body, she was so tight that she squeezed him gently as he pushed in deeper and started to pulsate his strokes. She felt so pure as he pushed her harder with his tongue now slamming in and out of her as she moaned out for her first orgasm. _"Oh Danse!"_ Her voice filled with the sheer force of pleasure she was receiving. It was so raw that he held her against him to keep her from jolting away. She screamed out his name and held her breath was she came incredibly hard into his soft mouth. It was so invigorating that he had to pull away and kiss her thigh to keep his hard cock from rubbing her skin behind her knee to pieces with its throbbing. He noticed that she had cum so hard that she had blacked out and was coming back to earth with heavy breathing and putting her hand over her mouth as the tingling sensations spiked under her skin.

 _"Oh baby, that was something I have never experienced before. You have one hell of a sex drive hiding in there. I would have never known that if you didn't take a risk with me."_ He smiled as she slowly looked down at him putting her arm above her head. _"Thank you Danse you have no idea how sexy that sounds coming from you."_ He hummed as he kissed he skin again and slowly made his way back up so he laid on top of her again. _"I can feel how big you are Danse, but rest assured that's not going to be a problem if you take it very easy at first."_ She whispered as she sucked on her lower lip as he sucked on her nipple and rolled the steel around his mouth gently. He suckled it for a moment before locking eyes with her and releasing the bouncy little flesh back to its original position on her chest. _"That's good, very good, and I can't wait to have every inch of my love deep inside your hot body Terra."_

She could feel him slowly part her gates with his huge throbbing cock, hard and slick just for her. They looked deep into each others eyes, like a standoff, as he slowly pressed into her with the tip and the heat made her open her mouth and breathe very deeply for a few seconds for her muscular wetness to stretch around him. She closed her eyes as he gently moaned out and advanced into her tight pussy very slowly. He pushed in a few inches and pulled back again until this movement made it easy for short thrusts. She was so tight that her grip on him as ever present as she moaned it tightened and he started to make out with her to relax the painful bite she had on him. As his tongue slid into her mouth she wrapped her arms around him and he slammed himself deep into her body, holding her moans captive in his mouth as she arched and shifted with his every moment until her made it to the hilt. He was all the way inside her, he stopped moving and just kept making out, sucking her tongue and her lips. He held it there as she whimpered with his heat burning from the inside out. She couldn't stand him just staying still like that, it was exactly what he wanted, to make her want him to fuck her so bad it hurt. It was working very well as he held he, pulling at her neck with his soft, full, lush lips and he pulled back to snap a deep hard thrust into her g spot. _"Yeah I knew you'd like that, I just knew it."_ He whispered as she moaned out with him riding her into the bedding. _"Oh! Danse, you have no idea how good that feels, make sure you do it harder right near the end."_ She squeezed out in between breaths as he pounded her even harder and his heavy breathing and grunting became very well placed. He smiled as he kissed her again and tossed his head back breaking the kiss wildly. _"Yes ma'am! Whatever you say."_ She could feel them both getting closer, the heat from the friction, the sweat rolling off their skin and all the moaning coupled with the grunts and groans made it even more arousing. He started sliding faster and harder with his strokes as her body suddenly went rigid and she had the longest, most enjoyable orgasm ever in her life as he shot his white hot seed deep into her body, with a loud moan and an upward body thrust making her so tight that he could never escape. They laid in each others arms on the bed, drenched in sweat, among other things and breathed in each others scents, slowly recovering from the high they placed on themselves.

 _"Thank you Danse, for seeing me and making me alive. I couldn't have made it this far without you."_ He kissed her neck before locking eyes with her slightly holding himself up. _"No thank you Terra. You took the steps to share yourself with me and that is something that can never be taken away from us."_ They laughed a little before separating and returning to the shower again. The showered together and the water shimmered over their skin as they started kissing again under its limitless movement. They turned the shower off and got dressed again as the morning was now on approach, the morning light that would bring with it unknowns, uncertainty and possibly a life changing event to rock the lives of everyone present on both sides. At the very least they got to have each other as they wanted and that alone would help to fuel for their fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you folks liked it and have a great day!


	11. Activation of Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fear nothing but fear itself, isn't that what FDR said way back when? Now it's time to walk with the words of wisdom in the land of confusion. Why participate? Why fight? Because it's the right thing to do. Plans for the future must be laid, the path must be blazed and the tough decisions need to be made now, if not there may be no tomorrow.

Paladin Danse and Captain Hulsey never thought that they would find the streets of love in the night and walk them together singing their own love songs. What they did know was that if an opportunity presented itself that they were to take it and run with it as best they could. They didn't need to think about anything or anyone else in the dark, they just needed to find each other and make themselves feel the most important for once. A decade is a long time to be alone and inactive, even in one's mind that can be cause for insanity. Whatever made the stars align for them, it made life a little easier and a lot more fulfilling to still be alive. The sun was beginning to touch the sky with its paint by number streaks over the desolate dawn when they started to talk about the future.

They sat down with some food in front of the laptop in the living area, Danse looked through the game guide as she started looking through the emails and global task force files she had access to. She became very perky at the image on the screen, it was of a prototype weapon that was real here in this world and she knew right where to find one. She wrote down the information about it as Danse found out about Shaun, how he was really Father to The Institute and how to get to his location. _"Terra? What if Maxson doesn't want to contribute the efforts of the Brotherhood to the fight? What if I can't convince him?"_ She stopped what she was doing and looked over at him with a sick notion that he knew something she didn't. _"Danse, that information in that guide isn't all true, you and I have changed it already. He will be convinced by you and whatever compromise you have to make, even if it concerns me, I'm sure that you will make it work. I have to go through the motions and get The Institute on our side, and the Railroad and the Minutemen also. This is going to be such a huge undertaking that I have to rely on you fully for the Brotherhood and I will make damn sure that they never find that information about you. As soon as I gain access to the Institute I will delete that information and we're off."_ He closed the guide and tossed it on the floor. He put his face down in his hands and didn't move for a few seconds.

She put her arm over his shoulders and leaned into him. _"What's wrong?"_ She whispered into his ear as he sniffed in his hands attempting to hide from her gaze. _"I know what Maxson wants and I'm not sure I can meet his expectations."_ She rubbed his back gently and he looked over at her with his welled up eyes ready to stream down his soft tears. _"Come on Danse, it's okay really. You and I will go to the Prydwen and talk to him ourselves. If we can start a plan there I can leave the rest to the two of you. You are both wonderful tacticians so I have faith that everything will fall into place."_ He wiped his face and smiled even though his lower lip was still quivering slightly. _"What about the guide and your laptop?"_ He sheepishly asked as she closed the lid to the laptop and it shutoff. _"Well, burn the guide and I'll hide this laptop to where only I know where it is. Everything is ready so after we meet with Maxson I have to start another journey. I will be gone for probably a week before everything can be put in place with everyone else so I hope that you will be okay with that. I understand the risks and I know that you worry about me so please, keep me close to your heart and I'll pull through."_ He took her hands and rubbed them with his fingers. _"Okay I can do that. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you Terra. I love you and I like the feeling of being in love with you, please keep yourself safe and I'll make sure Maxson doesn't know what we have been up to. I can't let you go alone and I'll do everything I can to keep you from going alone if I can."_ She smiled at him and dove into him making soft contact with his shaking lips. He closed his eyes and they pulled each other close as they kissed deeper and made it last.

She left him in the weapons room as she hid the laptop deep in the military complex, inside a rusted out reactor that was no longer functioning. Danse decided to make sure all the weapons were in perfect working order in the weapons room, going over each one slowly and selecting the best equipment for Terra to use for her new journey into the Glowing Sea. She came back into the room from down below and he was very pleased to see her in her Brotherhood uniform. He handed her the pistol that she so cherished and she smiled widely as she slung the holster over her shoulders and pulled it down to a comfortable level. _"Thank you, I need to ask you a very special favor Danse."_ She said adjusting the straps on the holster as he put his favorite laser rifle through a shakedown test. _"Sure what do you need me to do?"_ He lowered the rifle and looked over at her. _"I am going to need a full set of X-01 Power Armor fully upgraded by the time I come back to the Prydwen."_ She handed him a piece of paper with the locations of every piece for the armor. _"Sure, I can procure that for you no problem."_ They got the rest of their gear squared away and stood together at the entrance to the bunker for a moment. She acted like she didn't want leave the facility. _"Danse-"_ She grabbed his hand before he could move to the ladder and he spun around and she was face to face with him. She looked like she about to have a mental breakdown as she looked into his warm sweet eyes. _"Terra?"_ He dropped his bags and wrapped his arms around her as she started to sob. _"Terra what's going on?"_ He wiped her tears away as she started to speak. "I have a feeling of what Maxson wants from me. I don't know if can do that and if it comes to it to save everyone I will but I need you to be there for me all the way. I know that you will be but I just need to hear it from you." He kissed her and held her tightly. _"I will always be here for you Terra. Always."_ They held each other for a minute or two before exiting the bunker for the daylight to wash over them.

The sun kissed the skin on their faces as they walked out of the old shack. Danse snapped down a vertibird flare and they watched the red streamer dance up into the clam sky. They watched each other as the distant chopping of the air from the vertibird came closer. They looked into their eyes and watched the rotation of the earth in their peripheral vision as the gravitational pull moved them closer together. The vertibird landed out front about thirty feet away, they turned after a few seconds and boarded the ship as it idled on the ground. She sat in the seat in the passenger area as Danse spoke with the pilots and they radioed to the Prydwen for the impending meeting. Danse sat down next to her as she held the bags in her lap and they looked out at the passing landscape. _"I hope this works."_ She said to Danse they banked in for approach to the airship. _"It'll work, you have faith and so do I."_ He replied to her as the vertibird shuttered and was pulled up to the flight deck.

As they were swung up they saw Elder Maxson and Captain Kells standing there on the flight deck waiting for them. Danse exited first and Terra was right behind him, Elder Maxson shook Danse's hand they took the lead up to the stairs. They dropped their bags at the door and entered the belly of the ship. Terra was greeted by Captain Kells, who was pleasant as always and they walked together behind Maxson and Danse to the door. _"How are you holding up Terra?"_ Kells was warm towards her and he looked genuinely concerned. _"Oh I have healed up very well thanks to Danse and Cade. I would be lost if it wasn't for the support of the Brotherhood."_ Kells smiled and shook his head in agreement. _"Well you are always welcome here just remember that. I have to go now but I'm sure that Elder Maxson will keep me informed."_ He tipped his hat to her and walked down into the command section of the airship leaving her with Danse and Maxson. She could feel Maxson's eyes walking around on the surface of her body and she didn't like that. It made her feel uneasy, like she was a piece of meat in a butcher shop, and he was a customer eyeing her for dinner. Danse cleared the air and Maxson shifted his attention to him. _"We need to have a private meeting in your quarters Maxson, this concerns the Brotherhood and the safety of every living thing on the planet."_ This got his attention he raised his eyes brows and motioned to the ladder. They filed into his quarters and he locked the door behind them as they stood in the room and watched as he turned to face them. _"What is this all about?"_ Danse nodded to Terra as she sat down at the table and laid the bags on the floor.

 _"Elder Maxson, as you are well aware The Institute is a major threat to the Commonwealth. I am here to tell you that they are now the least of your worries. There is a new threat on the horizon, they are called The Global Strike Task Force. These men are highly skilled, well equipped and have a single mission."_ Maxson and Danse sat down at the table, Maxson locked eyes with her and was starting to look very upset. _"What mission is that?"_ She started tapping her fingers on the surface of the table. _"They are here to kill you, kill everyone in the Brotherhood and take everything you have, kill everyone in The Institute and take everything they have and then kill me to make this entire world collapse in on itself. That is their prime directive and they will complete it at all costs. I have a plan that will stop them, make it impossible for them to complete their mission and then we can seal up the void that allows them to come here in the first place permanently."_

He put his hand over her tapping fingers to make them stop and he glanced over at Danse who nodded to him. _"You are sure this will work?"_ He asked taking his hand back. _"Yes."_ He looked concerned but confident. _"What do you need from me?"_ He sat back in his chair watching her. _"Paladin Danse will go over the details with you. I need your full cooperation in this effort no questions asked. We will need every single soldier in your command to fight against them and with everything we have."_ Her gaze was dark and hardened. _"No questions asked huh? Well, what are the arrangements?"_ He wasn't happy but he had a plan. _"You have to work with The Institute and the rest of the Commonwealth as a whole, that includes the Railroad, the Minutemen and the Gunners."_ He grabbed his facial hair and scratched his face with a confused thought wandering. _"Okay but I will work out the compromise with Danse then."_ She nodded to him as she acknowledged the path he was taking. _"That's fine, I will be in communications with Captain Kells when the time comes and I hope that you two come up with the plans that you need for that compromise."_ She looked over at Danse who started to stand up.

 _"These people, you need to understand, they sent me here to kill and take your technology back to my world, to make everything more advanced to their liking. It wasn't something I had the chance to refuse otherwise I would have been killed, or executed rather, and now that I'm here I need to broker this deal properly, even if it means the death of all of them, but it's not like I'm complaining."_ His expression changed as he thought about it. _"You would do just about anything for this deal wouldn't you?"_ She was shocked by him suddenly. _"Yes, I would."_ He smiled and put his hand out, she shook it and nodded to Danse who was now very concerned as he was not trusting Maxson at this point. _"It's a deal, you have the full support of the Brotherhood and what resources we can provide to you."_ She smiled at him as he smiled back but his smile was different, **_drastically different._ **

She had noted this but the thought crept into her thoughts with a daft, nasty and almost wicked wind. She knew deep down what he wanted and she was about to have Danse make that choice for her. She stood up and Danse stood with her as Maxson stood also. _"I have to find Shaun. He's the key to all this working out and when I return there will have to be a advocate for all sides, I don't like to do this sort of thing but I believe this is the only way for this to work out properly with minimal loses on all sides."_ Maxson smiled and nodded. _"You seem to have a wind in your sails Terra. I hope that what deal you make with them is worth our while."_ She snapped a mean stare at him. _"It will be I assure you."_ He was taken by her mean streak that was showing through her surface rust as she was now having to leave. She didn't want to leave, it hurt her to think that she was going out alone and so she stopped herself and turned back to the table.

She reached down into the bag and pulled out a map and slammed it down on the tabletop tossing everything else to the floor. Maxson nearly fell back in his chair and stood suddenly to make it look as if he did that on purpose. Danse came over to the table to look at the map and waited for her to start her briefing. She ran her fingers over the old topo map that looked back at them. She pointed to one place on the map and began.

 _"This is the main insertion point here. This place is where they believe will be the least resistance and they are probably right. We need to get the Prydwen off the airport and out to sea where they can't possibly shoot her down, that's a risk not worth taking, with it sitting here it's nothing more than a sitting duck. Then they have three other sites they will use to bring in the strike force units, here near Sanctuary, here near the airport and here near the satellite array. This array will be a major point because it will provide the means in which they can go in and out of The Institute freely after they repair it with our tech. Now they will make an attempt on your life first Elder Maxson, that I can definitely confirm since I was sent here to kill you in the first place after I stole all sorts of shit from you and returned with the task force teams myself."_ She stopped for a moment waiting for him to slap the hell out of her but he sat there in shock as she slowly looked over at him and Danse stood with his arms crossed over his chest across from her.

 _"Why are you telling me all this?"_ He asked slowly putting his hands palms down on the map. _"Because I'm not your enemy, I don't want any of you dead and I am here today to tell you that we can win this thing. Kill them, all of them."_ She locked eyes with him as he studied her face very carefully. _"I understand there is a price to pay for everything and that price is going to be pretty damn high by the time I get this said and done so whatever you two work out I will agree to, we have already shaken hands on it and I will not pull out of the deal."_ He started pulling at his chin and looked back at her for a moment. _"Okay, and Liberty Prime?"_ She nodded in acknowledgement. _"As a last resort to close the connection and lock them out."_

He smiled slightly and nodded around the thought. She left the map on the table and started to toss the bag over her shoulder when Danse got to her side and pulled her over near the door. _"Are you sure you understand what you have just done?"_ He sounded angry at her. _"I understand fully and this is what it is, I must have his full cooperation Danse no matter what, it could be the death of us all if I don't."_ He let go of her arm and they looked at Maxson who was still studying the map.

Danse looked down at the floor for a moment and then locked eyes with her. _"Please don't go out there alone, I need to be with you."_ She put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. _"No Danse, I have to go alone for this one. I'll be fine, this won't take too long and when I come back all the parts of the plan will be in place."_ Elder Maxson tossed Danse the key to the door and turned back to the map. Danse unlocked the door, left the key in it and they exited his quarters. _"Come on I have something to show you."_ Danse motioned to her as she followed him down to the lowest part of the airship, it was completely deserted and perfect for what Danse had planned out. She looked around confused, _"Okay we're here, what is it that you wanted to show me?"_ He turned her around and pushed her against one of the metal support beams and kissed her very passionately. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him as he hummed into her lips and they made out very deeply in the isolation of this lower deck. She lifted one of her legs to wrap his hips and he held it with his hand behind the knee and rutted into her. She broke the kiss as he did it even harder, the hard flesh beneath his uniform was now rubbing her tender lotus flower and she threw he head back against the beam letting out a whisper of a moan. He smiled as he felt her get white hot through her uniform as Maxson wasn't far away.

He had followed them down to the lower level and was sneaking peeks at them from a far behind some boxes on the same level. He unlatched the top of his uniform as he watched them and unzipped it about halfway to his nipple line. The sweat was beading up on his neck and chest as they started making out roughly with each other with her pinned against the beam and Danse started to unlatch her uniform and grabbed the zipper with his teeth and unzipped it to her naval. It made Maxson have a huge engrossed erection almost immediately as he watched his friend interact like that with her down the way. He started pushing the thing down with his hand but it was to no avail as it grew again and again with each successive push. He looked down upon it as it was now throbbing through the fabric at him with a silent whimper through his blood as it swelled even more to sounds of her moaning as Danse started sucking on her neck, and she wrapped her arms around the beam behind her. He was now supporting her with his arms as he was giving her love bites all over her neck. Rutting and slamming her against the beam and the metal latches on the back of her jumpsuit were gently clanking against the steel behind her as Danse started a new rhythm. They started shoving their tongues down each others throats as he started watching them again as his hand was slowly gravitating to his crotch. He swallowed hard as he reached his sweaty palm down into his briefs and grabbed his slick hard cock with his right hand and knelled behind the boxes watching them, as Danse started licking and sucking on her nipples and peeling the top of her jumpsuit back exposing her soft shimmering skin.

Maxson bit his lower lip as his hand took on a mind of its own and started to follow the rhythm that Danse had started with his rutting and he held his breath as he jerked himself harder at every moan she whimpered out. He had the protection of his battle coat as he was now down on both knees leaning against the boxes and the heat from the encounter was starting to burn his face and ears as they turned bright red. His breathing was heavy and ramped up quickly as he concentrated on their sounds and he gave himself what he had been looking for. Danse and Terra were slowly sliding down the beam to the ground making out in a white hot fashion as they were about to start having sex on the decking when Maxson closed his eyes and jerked himself harder and faster. He didn't want to get caught giving himself pleasure to the sounds of them having each other but he couldn't help it. The sounds of buckles being flung open and zippers being unzipped made him act with more haste. Then he heard it, exactly what he was hoping for, and he peered around the boxes at them. Danse had her on her back, his arms wrapped around her and hers above her head as his hips started rolling into hers and she cried out as he kissed her. He was grunting, slightly moaning out himself as he started pounding her fairly hard into the steel decking beneath them, Maxson peered a little further and caught a glimpse of Terra's face. Her mouth was gaped open as she tossed her head back and rolled into Danse, a silent scream then echoed through his mind as he watched. Maxson put his knuckle in his teeth from his free hand, let his forehead rest against the boxes and jerked himself so hard that when he came it completely filled his briefs, his mouth was open wide as he let out only air for his orgasm and he groaned deeply under his breath as they came into each other down the deck, the unmistakable sounds of a man and woman receiving pleasure from each other faintly drifted down the corridor. He quivered and shook as his cock slowly softened and he wiped his hands inside his uniform before quickly zipping himself back up and relatching his coat. He was now uncomfortably wet, but the coat did a good job of concealing the evidence as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

He slowly raised up on one knee and then the other as Terra and Danse zipped each other back up and stood in the middle of the corridor facing the opposite direction. They were speaking in a low tone, sub audible at his range so he stood and acted as if he had just come down the stairs to find them there. Danse looked over his shoulders at the sound of Maxson's footsteps as he walked confidently over to them.

Danse nodded to him and Terra turned to face him. _"Ah, there you two are, I have made my decision. I will allow Paladin Danse to go with you on your journey, I will triple my personal protection detail and make sure she is safe at all times Danse. I want to keep you alive Terra, I will do everything in my power to keep you well. Go speak with Proctor Ingram about your power armor needs, you will take one that has been assigned to you by me and wear it with pride, you earned it."_ He smiled as he spoke gently to her and Danse knew something was up as he watched her zip away up the stairs and now it was only the two of them **_alone_**. Danse narrowed his gaze at him as Maxson locked eyes with him.

 _"What are you up to Arthur?"_ Danse asked as Maxson put his hands at the small of his back and walked right up to Danse less than a foot from him and whispered. _"I want to hold her as you do, even if it's only for a little while but it will be worth it to me, that's my price. I spoke with Cade about those odd objects in her full body x-rays and the one is a birth control device, not permanent, once removed she can bear young no problem."_ He looked at the ground and back at Danse, his expression hadn't changed. _"I want her to give me an heir, willingly, and if she does than that'll be fine. If not then I will have her when ever and where ever I want. Then you two can do whatever you want, I can have Cade put that back if she has it taken out or not that will be up to the two of you. That's the deal Danse, you have my full support and so will she."_ Danse put his hand on his shoulder and acknowledged the situation, and the terms. _"Okay Arthur, its a deal, do you want me to tell her or do you want to do it?"_ Maxson searched for a moment in the back of his mind for the answer. _"I'll tell her when you two get back from making this pact with everyone else."_ Danse patted Maxson and they turned and started for the stairs. _"Whatever you say Arthur, this is your deal."_ Danse said softly as they walked back up stairs to the power armor bays where Terra was fitted by Ingram with her new gear. Maxson stopped suddenly and Danse nearly ran over the back of him, as he turned back to Danse to say something. _"Danse, I understand that things are close between the two of you and I want to make it clear I'm not going to get in the way of that. Meet me in my quarters before you leave and bring her with you."_ Danse looked confused but nodded to him as he turned back and finished ascending the stairs. Danse and Maxson knew what was going to be done, Danse figured this is what the price would be and he had written a letter about Terra's past for Maxson to read while they were gone, so that it might be a better experience for everyone if he understood what had happened to her and he left it in Maxson's coat pocket without his notice. Danse was such the tactical man that he had written it while they had still been down in the old bunker and felt that Maxson needed her as much as she needed Danse, it was a special talent Danse had from long ago, reading people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, sorry for such a long delay but here we go again with this interesting story. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and leave me some kudos if you did!! Thanks!!!


	12. Phase One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trust within the ranks and prices to be paid. Burning the candle at both ends makes for a rough journey in the day but provides a path way for the night as Terra is reached by the unreachable and the danger becomes even more real.

Ingram had the armor hooked up to a monitor system and watched it as Terra put the T-60 through its shakedown. An almost complete set of armor was next to her, it was the X-01, and there were four people working on it. Danse was surprised that the orders to find it had been sent out while they were enroute to the Prydwen and apparently Teagan had something to do with having most of the parts already in stock so it was only a matter of putting them together. Ingram nodded to them as they approached Terra from behind and watched her finish the testing and exit the armor. _"It looks good from here Terra, you are ready for combat and when you return the other set of gear will be operation for you."_ Ingram said with a smile as Terra looked over her shoulder at Danse and Maxson. _"Thank you Ingram this means a great deal to me and I hope I can do something special for you in return."_ They shook hands as Maxson and Danse both stopped short and watched. Terra turned to them, Maxson motioned for her to follow and Danse was by her side as they followed him back to his quarters.

 _"I see that you have your gear ready and that things are in place for you to go on your journey together. When you reach The Institute I need you to find a Doctor Li for me and convince her to come back her and work with us on this."_ Maxson opened the door and they walked inside as he held the door for them. _"Consider it done Elder."_ She said as he closed the door, Danse stood behind her and Maxson in front of her. His eyes had warmed and the blue hue made her feel like swimming in the ocean with Danse. _"So eager to kill and destroy for such a worthy cause Terra. I like that but I need to understand you a little better and I want you to trust me._ " He was now standing very close to her, his warm breath landing gently on her face as he spoke and they continued eye contact. She wasn't about to back down from this test even though she had no idea what it really was. _"Do you trust me Terra?"_ He asked very sharply. _"Yes."_ She was quick with the answer to make him feel confident there was no doubt. _"Do you trust Danse?"_ He watched her face twitch. _"Yes."_ She was now a little angry that he would ask this and was about to question when he asked for a very strange thing. _"If you trust us I want you to close your eyes."_ She tilted her head and glared at him for a moment before relaxing and closing her eyes.

He took his glove off his right hand and put it on the side of her face. His smooth warm skin made her jump slightly as he held her there with it. _"I'm not going to hurt you Terra. I promise."_ He slowly grazed her lips with his tongue and she pulled back as Danse put his arms around her from behind and leaned his body into hers. _"Terra, relax he's telling the truth."_ She snorted slightly at Danse as Maxson put his soft cheek to hers and he closed his eyes. _"Shhhh..... just be calm, we want to make you feel at home with us and I want to make sure you are completely comfortable with that, okay."_ She took in a deep breath as Danse laid his forehead against the back of her neck. _"Okay."_ She whispered to him as he smiled against her. Maxson slowly kissed her lips leaving a soft velvet feel in his wake, he was so warm and full but different from anyone else she had ever experienced. He stopped kissing her as Danse turned her around into his arms and he kissed her very deeply. Terra wrapped her arms around him and they hummed into each other. Maxson smiled as they let each other go and she turned back to face him. _"I wanted us both to feel each other, if anything were to happen to either of us we would have missed that opportunity and I'm glad that you let me take that chance on you. I will never lie to you, and neither will Danse, not now or ever."_ Terra hugged Maxson tightly and as his arms slowly wrapped her Danse smiled widely at them both, the feeling of letting go of the past was starting to sink into Arthur Maxson for the first time in over a decade. That screwed up little starting point for them all, a decade. Thought of now as not only a thing but a place and time for all of them. Something to now leave far behind.

 _"Elder Maxson, thank you and stay safe for all of us. Ad Victoriam!"_ She saluted him and he returned it for her. _"You too, both of you and please report back to me ASAP with all the others offer of support. We will be moving the Prydwen off the airport shortly so I hope that you both have success. Terra, what that okay?"_ She looked into his sweet eyes and nodded. Danse shook his hand and both of them left him standing there in his quarters. As they returned to their gear several new Knight-Captains and Knight-Sergeants took up guard post all along the airship in preparation for the impending attack. They had everything they needed, so they thought and they left on a vertibird for a place called Concord first. They were to meet up with and restart the Minutemen with the help of Preston Garvey. They were dropped not far outside of the small town that laid in ruins, the stagnant air swirled around them in the warm afternoon sun and the distant sounds of gunfire were reverberating off the walls of old buildings.

Danse and Terra exited the vertibird and crouched next to an old ice machine as it took off leaving them to task on the ground. They slowly swept the area making their way to the main building of interest in the center of town, according to the guide that was where Garvey and a group of survivors would be waiting for the player of the game to come and help them, little did they know it would be real help from real people. Terra and Danse looked like a real duo of death in their T60 power armor as they crept around the dusty old town and Terra noted the crashed vertibird on the rooftop near their location. Danse looked up and acknowledged it as they entered the building to meet up with Preston. He had a rag tag group of people with him holed up inside that old building fighting against a group of raiders. The raiders were nothing more than a group of bullies with guns as they were torn apart by the whizzing bullets and laser rifle fire of the Brotherhood pair on their march to the upper floor.

Terra was taking great enjoyment in blasting the raiders as she would crouch in corners and watch the curiosity take them over and the bullets would ripple through the air in secession to their targets, blood splattering everywhere. Her violence level was only rising as they had dropped all their targets with little opposition and reached the frightful group above them. A man named Sturgis was with them and he was fairly intelligent if he didn't open his mouth too much. Terra listened to what he had to say about the power armor on the roof and she decided to give it to him if they went to Sanctuary and created a small base there with the Brotherhood. The group looked around at each other as they listened to her talk to Preston about restarting the _Minutemen with the help of the Brotherhood, and Paladin Danse stood silent behind his helmet among the group._

 _"Preston, we need your help to restart the Minutemen properly. Whatever you need help with the Brotherhood will help you get it off the ground and then the Commonwealth can provide the means of the manpower but we will need your full cooperation no questions asked."_ He looked her up and down and then conceded to defeat. _"I am the last Minuteman. I will do my best and I will make sure that you have my full cooperation with the Brotherhood of Steel."_ They shook on it and traveled to Sanctuary together. Preston liked Terra and Danse, sort of, and they were now all mixed into this pile of catastrophe that was to be the new wasteland. Terra knew better than anyone that this place was one of the choke points in the operation and as soon as they could get it ready the Brotherhood was to setup an outpost fully equipped to deal with the new threat.

Danse and Terra cleared out the neighborhood far ahead of the group when they were met by a lone robot butler that thought Terra was his master. Terra drew down on it as it approached her through the broken down house. _"Mum?"_ It kept asking looking at her and scanning her over and over as she slowly lowered her weapon. _"Mum? Is that you?"_ It had a British accent to its voice as it hovered on its flaming jet engine no more than three feet off the ground in front of her on the sidewalk. _"I'm sorry I'm not who you think I am. Who are you?"_ She said to it as she holstered the weapon and watched the robot intensely under the protection of her helmet. _"I'm Codsworth, I thought you were Nora. She was one of my masters, and Mister. Do you, do you know where they are?"_ She lowered her gaze and looked back at him again with sad news. _"I'm sorry Codsworth but they have passed away. Shaun was taken by The Institute and I have to find him. You are welcome to stay here and help out if you please. I'm sure you'd be overjoyed to see Shaun when he returns."_ Codsworth started to sob as he hovered there. _"Thank you ma'am. What is your name?"_ She patted the robot and replied. _"Terra and this is Paladin Danse we are members of the Brotherhood of Steel."_ Codsworth eyed Danse and turned back to her. _"I would be honored to stay here and help all of you and Shaun. I will make sure Nora's old house is as fresh and ready for you both as much as I can."_ He floated away to the house that would serve as their base of operations and started cleaning frantically.

Terra looked over her shoulder at Danse who just shrugged and they walked into and out of every house there. Danse snapped down a flare for the vertibirds, and the first phase had begun. Terra watched off in the distance as the five vertibirds were making their way across the landscape to setup there, this place was also a base for the Minutemen and these people would bear witness to the way things were going to be, these massive changes. Preston stood next to Danse and watched what they were looking at as the birds approached. They all started landing next to each other in the neighborhood, almost touching wingtips as they taxied to different positions and over thirty Brotherhood soldiers were now roaming the place. The soldiers were moving large amounts of sand bags, barriers and support systems for a massive defense into place. Terra seemed like she was far off somewhere as she stood still among the swarm of people rushing all around her. She stood like a stone as the scenery around her seemingly changed back to the past, and she saw John standing no more than thirty feet from her. He was talking to Jack, whom had been dead and now seeing them both there made her feel as if she were about to pass on like they had. She slowly took her helmet off and Danse looked over his shoulder at her. The look on her face said it all, as she let the helmet drop from her hands and roll on the ground, kicking up dust as it came to a halt. _"Terra!"_ He shouted over at her but she didn't hear him. She watched John and Jack talk as the sounds of the B-52's landing on the tarmac deafened her. The shadow of the vertibird she walked under made the shadow of the B-52 in her lost thoughts as she slowly approached John from behind and Danse started a hasty stride over to her. Blocking her path she didn't even see him, she smelled the jet fuel as the vertibirds were being refueled and she had completely lost her trail of thought as the memory played on. Danse grabbed her armor and shook her hard, _"Terra!"_ It didn't work as she acted as if he wasn't even there. Danse brushed her armored forearm gently and tried again, _"Terra?"_ She suddenly snapped alive again looking around in confusion as John and Jack vanished and everything returned to as it was. She looked at Danse and he could see that she recognized him but she had a sick look running over her expression.

 _"Terra what happened?"_ He asked as picked her helmet up and held it for her. _"I saw John and Jack. They were right here, and the air base was here and my plane. It was like I was back but I wasn't, there is something really wrong happening."_ She put her hand against her face and closed her eyes for a moment and started looking around again as if it were all going to change again. _"I wish I could just get this over with quickly and without bloodshed but I know better."_ She sighed loudly and took her helmet back from Danse and examined it in her hands. _"Thank you Danse, for being here with me. I guess I just need some rest."_ Danse smiled as he looked out at the setting sun. _"Yeah, I guess we both do."_ The beauty of the sunset stopped them as they began to walk back to the house that once belonged to the vault dweller and her family. They stood and watched its battle with the night as it was overcome and the twilight sang into the sky. Danse looked over at her as she cracked a smile at the twilight, the warm breeze catching her hair and brushing against her face and she hummed to it as it passed by them. _"I feel the spirits are in the dark waiting and I will let the wind go quietly."_ She whispered as the song played in her head and he smiled at her for her little imperfections made her part of being the love of his life. She seemed relaxed as a Knight slowly approached them and Danse acknowledged her. _"Hello, I'm Knight Sergeant Olivia Hambleton, it's nice to meet you both." She held her hand out and Terra shook it. "I will be in charge of operations here after you finish the setup in the morning and I just wanted to make sure that you both were abreast of that fact."_ She tipped her head to Danse whom just stood still to her. _"Thank you Olivia it's nice to be among friendly faces here and I see that everything is pretty much in place here so we will brief you in the morning. Thank you."_ Terra shook her hand again as they parted ways.

Danse and Terra entered the house and Terra exited her armor in the living room, Danse followed suite be exiting his next to hers and they slowly sat down on the couch and looked up at their gear. Terra ran her hand through her hair and huffed at her thoughts. Danse put his arm across her shoulders and gently pulled himself up next to her and kissed the side of her face. _"Come on let's get some sleep, it's a full day tomorrow."_ Terra shook her head and looked into his eyes. _"Danse I can feel other people here with us, I don't know how but that government man, I can feel that he's here somehow."_ Danse narrowed his gaze into her eyes and he could detect the fear of this invisible presence in her. _"I'm here with you, I promise to keep you safe with me."_ She stood up, he shot up and hugged her. _"Terra don't worry okay. If he shows up we'll take care of him."_ A tear slowly escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek as she buried her face into his neck and cried gently in his arms. _"We can't let him get me, if he does I'm a goner and so is everyone else. I just have a feeling he is going to come for me himself."_ Danse held her tightly as he became very angry at the thought that someone would be there, without provocation and unseen, to hurt her and get away with it.

She slowly let her arms drop around his waist and they started walking to the bedroom wrapped around each other Terra walked backwards and Danse put his forehead against hers as they slowly moved down the hall. _"Codsworth did a wonderful job fixing this place up for us and I think you'll feel very happy here for the night."_ He smiled locking eyes with her as they turned into the bedroom. Inside was a king size bed with fresh bedding, sheets and pillows like before the war. The room was done up nicely with rugs on the floor and a functional door that could be locked from the inside. Danse slowly let her slid out of his grasp onto the bed and she started to take off her boots when he stopped her and knelled down to do it for her. He slowly removed her boots and socks, set them just under the edge of the bed and she unlatched the collar of the jumpsuit and unzipped it slightly before she laid on her side and watched him. He sat on the edge of the bed and took his boots off, setting them next to hers and stood up locking the door. He returned to the bed and laid next to her on his side, facing her he pulled her close to him and she pushed her face into his chest and wrapped her arm over his side. He slowly stroked her hair back, kissed her forehead and took in her scent with each breath he took. She nuzzled his chest and grabbed his uniform with her hand, balled the fabric in her fist and held him close. _"Get some sleep, you have been burning the candle at both ends for too long and I will be right here for you always."_ She nodded with her eyes closed and he held her as she started to slip into a nice deep sleep hiding in his loving arms.

She woke up in the desert, the hot sun pounding down on her face and she lifted her arm up to block the sun out to reveal she was wearing her flight jacket. She looked at her patches and realized she was sitting in her corvette, she ran her hands over the steering wheel and smiled. Reaching down to turn the ignition on she saw that she was wearing her blackbird watch and the date shocked her, April 13,2012, two weeks before Jack and John were killed and the accident. She turned the radio up and heard a song she hadn't heard in a longtime, it also marked the date about a month before the Starlight burned to the ground and she knew what she had to do. She kicked the car over, basked in the sound of the roaring 427 and slammed it into gear for the nightclub as the sun set was now having an effect on how she drove. The wheels of the car split pebbles across the dirt road, the lights of neon color flared against the twilight sky as she approached the night club at a high rate of speed and did her favorite drift slid into the parking lot right in front of a general and two colonels who saluted her as she slid out of her car dressed in her jacket, aviator glasses, black flight pants and black boots. The music from the club was spilling out into the parking lot, _"Right Round"_ by Flo Rida, and the doors flung open as she walked inside. The lasers were on shining across the club, everyone inside was dancing and cheering as she walked inside removing her glasses. This was her party for her seventy fifth mission at the base that year and it was huge, the place was packed with people and she found herself standing at the bar sucking down triples of brandy.

Jack slid up next to her on one side and John on other side as the music got louder. They had a little dance that they all did together they snapped their drinks down the hatch and spun around in unison. They started dancing into the center of the floor, she lowered herself to her knees as they dancing around her, throwing money at her and the crowd cheered. People were clapping to the music and she stood up from her knees in a quick motion as both the men spun on their heels around her and side did a back-flip and started brake dancing. She was hard to keep up with on the dance floor as they all danced around each other and drink was flowing freely around them all. That's when she got a sharp shiver up her spine, she looked over at the bar and saw the man in the black suite watching her. There were a lot of people in the club, this was a public place, what the hell--. The next thing she knew she was standing outside with him in her face, he was eyeing her like she was his prey and as a predator he reached for her violently and laughed as she snapped back so hard she hit the ground and was now on her back. She rolled over and ran for her car that was parked nearby, she ripped the keys out of her pocket , jumped inside through the open driver's side window, slamming keys in the ignition and he was right on her ass! She rolled into the sat and as the thing roared to live she was in gear and sped out of the parking lot. He was on her! His car was coming up fast behind her as they raced across the dirt floor of the dry lake bed road. She whipped the car off the road and sped across the lake bed towards the rows of hangers on the far end of the experimental section of the air base, a place she was very familiar with as she had worked there for years now. The black limo nearly hitting her as she slid sideways, narrowly missing the guard shack that appeared to be empty, and she slammed it into a lower gear as she broke through a security fence into the facility towards a row of jets on the taxiway.

She was expecting there to be sirens of security alert but it was silent, dark and eerie. She unlatched the t-tops of the vette and punched them off the top of the car and they hit the nose of the limo behind her. She sped down the taxiway to the last plane, an F-4e Wild Weasel, it looked operational with its flight tags still attached. She slammed on the brakes and parked the car roughly five feet from the plane's wing, she jumped out of the car as the limo approached quickly, jumped from the roof of her car onto the wing of the jet and opened the cockpit to find that it wasn't ready for flight. Some of the gauges were missing but she jumped inside as the man started shouting at her. She started the procedure to start the engines but it was dead and now so was she, so she thought as she let her head drop in defeat. The man was standing up against her car, lighting a cigarette and watched as she slowly climbed out of the cockpit and sat on the wing above him. _"Come on down from there you've lost this battle and now it's time to pay up for what you have done."_ She dropped down from the wing onto the ground and he was on her like a fly on stink. He grabbed her by the shoulders, squeezed them into her chest and spit the cigarette on the ground. His face was right against hers as he kissed her and held her close. _"You are going to get us all killed if you don't stop Janet!"_ She snapped awake, taking in deep breath, panicked and ripped back into reality too fast, she was in Danse's arms still and her jolt woke him up. He looked at her with much concern as she was sweating and her breathing was erratic.

 _"Danse get up! We're all in danger!"_ He sat up as she jumped off the bed and sat on the floor ripping her boots on fast. He put his boots on next to her still half asleep. _"Wh--What? What's going on Terra?!"_ She had a piece of paper in her mouth and was looking for a pen on the desk near the bed. She started writing down names on the paper and locations. _"We don't have time to sleep, we need to get these people here ASAP and then go get Virgil and get into The Institute now!"_ Danse looked at her with confusion as she ripped the door open to the bedroom and darted down the hallway to the power armor. He was right after her as she was now getting in her armor and he followed suit. They exited to the outside, the Brotherhood soldiers were all working outside feverishly and Olivia looked over her shoulder at them as they ran to her side. _"I need you to get a team together and get all the people on this list to this location ASAP, understood?!"_ She handed the paper to her and she looked at it and nodded. "Yes ma'am were on it!" She waved over a team of eight Knights in power armor and started dividing up the task. The sun was going to come up soon, probably about three hours of so when they started for the Glowing Sea to find Virgil, and get what they needed to the Railroad to get to The Institute and if what the man in suit had said was right, the danger was far more real than anyone had realized before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked it and leave me some kudos of course!!


	13. Smoke and Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all is as it seems as Maxson moves his airship away from the airport and Doctor Janet uses her cunning to make sure things don't go as planned.

Elder Maxson sat in his quarters holding the letter that Danse had written to him about Terra. He was both appalled and horrified by the events that shaped her past. The orders she had given him to prep for this war from the beyond was something that he both enjoyed and regretted, he knew people would die and the possibility of him not making it out of this alive was setting in. The letter was fluttering in his hand as he sat on the edge of his bed, one hand over his face as his eyes filled with the tears of rage against those that caused so much shit and pain. He crumpled the letter and tossed it across the room in a fury as there came a knock at the door.

**_TAP-TAP-TAP_ **

_"Come in."_ He grumbled as Captain Kells unlatched the steel door and peeked inside. _"Ah Kells it's you, is it time already?"_ Kells smiled and walked inside with Cade right behind him. _"Yes sir it is. Are you ready for this?"_ Maxson stood up and took off his coat. He brushed the arm of it with his fingers as he laid it over his bed and looked Cade in the eyes. _"Yeah, I'm ready. Get underway immediately and the rest will fall into place."_ Cade nodded to Kells and Kells left the room, latching the door behind him.

Another knock came at the door shortly after Kells left, it was a young female knight and a young male knight that had just arrived from the Capital Wasteland. He smiled at them as they came inside and latched the door behind them, the young man looked a lot like Arthur and the female had red hair and was very kind as he shook their hands. _"I'm glad that you were able to make it Jackson, Nedra. I hope you understand the reasons for all this and I will do everything I can to make sure you stay safe."_ The sandy blond man smiled at Arthur as the girl put the box she was carrying on the table and opened it to reveal a set of clippers and hair dye. _"If it wasn't for you Arthur I would have died at least three times, this is the least we can do for you and I'm honored that you gave me the chance to rise to the occasion."_ He said as he shed the old jacket he wore and sat at the table with him. Cade put his hand on the man's shoulder and nodded to him. _"Jackson, I understand what this means to you, put it comes with its own set of dangers. I have reason to believe that there may be spies on the Prydwen that are aiming to either kill me or take me hostage. I will be with you as much as I can but there will be times when the security detail will be the only ones with you and I expect you to be ever vigilant in the mean time until this whole thing blows over."_ Jackson became rigid to his words. _"I understand, and I promise you that the Brotherhood bloodline will remain protected even if it means my life."_ Arthur's eyes met Cade's and there was a silent acknowledgement as Cade pulled out an apron and covered Jackson.

 _"What kind of cut would you like Paladin Anderson?"_ Nedra asked Maxson. _"I would like a flat top please ma'am."_ He smiled at Jackson as the clippers buzzed and his hair was falling off to the floor. A set of straight blades sat on the table on a towel next to the soap for the shave he was about to receive and he was now ready to look the part of the battle worn Paladin Mike Anderson from the Capital Wasteland. Cade started with the black hair dye in Jackson's hair and it had began, the transformation of the two to make a distraction for the masses. Maxson closed his eyes and felt the hair slowly vanish from his head, the comb sliding across his scalp and the warmth of the towel now around his neck. The mess of hair now across the floor looked like someone had massacred a pet dog or even a cat in the room. Nedra had almost finished with the flat top when she handed him the mirror to look back at himself with, and he was shocked by how different it made him look. It was short but it did the trick and after the next change it would be no doubt that he was now this Paladin Anderson. _"Looks good, finish the job Knight."_ He handed her back the mirror and she started to shave off his facial hair. Jackson now looked just like him, his hair was now jet black and thick. Cade was happy with how his work was turning out and smiled at him as he began fitting a fake scar that matched Maxson's to his face. Nedra had Maxson lean back in his chair as she started to shave off the hair on his jaw line. Cade then mixed up the chemicals to bleach out Maxson's hair to make it a chrome blonde, consistent with that of a man who had an extraordinarily hard life on the battlefield at a young age.

Nedra shaved all the hair off and with his clean shaven face now smiling back at her she looked shocked as if she had never seen him before, and Cade started applying the bleach to his eye brows and his hair. He reached up and rubbed his soft hands across his smooth face and the look on his face changed some. _"I never thought I would ever feel the skin on my face again, I guess I was wrong. I sort of missed it_." Cade started laughing at him as he make sure the bleach was evenly spread across the scalp and eye brows. _"You look very good sir. Now just sit still and this will all be over soon."_ Maxson closed his eyes and stayed still for Cade to complete his work. As he remained still he could feel the airship moving position off the airport and start for its point out at sea. The sounds of the vertibird escorts were reflecting off the hull of the airship as there were now ten of them hovering around for its protection detail alone.

Over an hour passed as Cade was now washing out Jackson's hair in the sink in Maxson's quarters, Maxson sat in his chair and watched as Nedra made the final touches to her brother's facial scar with some studio makeup. He wondered if this was really going to work or not when he felt there was something wrong. He heard something that wasn't very good sounding, like someone was walking around on the deck without authorization, and he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small handgun, and now he was facing the door. He could hear the person on the other side stop moving and listen, as if they had put their ear to the door and then they slowly moved off. He took in deep breath as the heavy footsteps of a Knight walked past the door and the shadow followed. He slid the handgun into his jumpsuit as it was now his turn to rinse his hair out and get a good look at himself. Cade helped him wash the bleach off of his skin and has took the towel from the hanger and wiped his face very thoroughly before looking back at himself through the mirror over the sink. Cade left him and stood back with the others as Maxson's bright blue eyes now looked back at him in the mirror and what a change had been made there. He was now a beautiful silver fox of a man, clean shaven and the scar so present that it made him look like a formidable foe to everyone. He looked at one side, then the other and smiled as he tossed the towel into the sink basin. _"Good job guys, I sure look the part now don't I?"_ He said was turned around and looked at all of them. They were shocked by how much he had changed and he loved it. _"Hi, I'm Paladin Mike Anderson from the Citadel, I'm here to protect you Elder Maxson."_ He put his hand out to Jackson who shook it immediately. _"Thank you Paladin, I'm sure I can count on you for this operation, just as I can Paladin Danse and Captain Hulsey."_ They smiled at each other as the plan was set into motion.

**_Meanwhile back at the Pentagon....._ **

The man in the black suit, his green eyes watching Janet as she slowly vanished down the hallway and the elevator doors sliding open and closed again. He knew she wasn't to be trusted with any information, he saw her for what she was and that was scary as hell. He was to meet with the President in an hour and it had to done this way and not hers. He waited in the hallway for several moment before going to the elevator himself and exiting the complex for the first time twenty days. The Task Force was prepping for their assault on the thirty fourth level, the highly trained military men racing up and down the corridors with their weapons ready at all times made everyone fell very uneasy. The elevator slowly took him up to the surface and the sun nearly blinded him as the door opened, revealing his limo and driver waiting with an open door for him just feet from the opening.

He got inside just as the driver closed the door and they sped off the facility to the White House for the meeting. He took a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and began to savor the flavor of it as they were escorted by the Washington D.C. police department motorcade. He felt this meeting would be fruitless and the efforts he was to put forth would fall on deaf ears as the truth of the situation had been shrouded by the smoke of the illustrious Doctor Langdon. They bounced and rocked down the roads to the White House, the secret service man opened the door for him as the vehicle came to a stop. He stepped out of the car, dropped the cigarette butt on the ground and walked with a contingent of secret service men into the lobby. They gave him a pat down and he took a seat waiting for the door to open and his name to be called. A uniformed Colonel sat across the room from him staring squarely at the wall, in no way, shape or form acknowledging that he was sitting only feet from one of the most dangerous men on the planet. It was silent, except for the slight shifting of the two gentlemen in the hall and the pristine nature of the White House made them both feel, inadequate in the presence of such a man as the President of the United States. The door finally opened and the man in the black suit was motioned inside my a pair of Marines in their dress blue uniforms, crisp and ready for the occasion. The man stepped inside and the Marines exited as the doors slowly hissed closed behind him, and in a chair directly out in front of him, behind a huge old wooden desk sat the President of the United States, with his back to him.

 _"I trust that everything has gone to plan thus far Agent."_ The old man spoke out loud as the man sat in the chair set out for him. The leather groaned as his weight slid into it and feet huffed at this sudden use from out of the blue. _"Yes Mr. President, thus far, but there has been a complication in our mist."_ The man sat forward in the wingback chair waiting for the President to turn to him, but he did not. _"I most certainly understand your position Agent, I trust that you take care of this situation before it gets any further out of control be any means necessary. I have been kept abreast of the situation and you are to take the first recon team into the system, understood?"_ The man shifted uneasily as he felt the chair was able to squeeze the life from him. _"Yes sir. We have shut the system down per your request but it hasn't stopped it. It run even without power and locked inside of a special Ferriday cage inside the steel vessel that was made specifically for this type of event. The fact that Terra is alive inside that thing and now it runs on its own internal power makes it,--well a breakthrough of scientific portions in which the likes we have never seen or yet have the comprehension to understand."_ The President slapped his fists against the arms of his chair and turned back to the Agent. _"Kill Doctor Langdon before she finds out about this, this is al her fault and make sure that system is locked up for the rest of all our days!"_ The anger in is voice alone instilled fear into the man, the heat from it burned his face and every patch of exposed skin in his wake and the President returned to looking out the window again. _"Anything else, Madexx?"_ His voice changed slightly but still filled with rage. _"No sir. I will execute your orders to my fullest ability."_ The man stood up and the President shook his finger in the air. _"Don't forget what's at stake here Madexx. Make sure she's dead and that this can never come to light again. The atrocities that woman has done will not go unpunished. Make sure Terra remains unharmed inside the system, we need to stay alive if we are to complete this phase of the power system for the eastern seaboard, and Madexx, if this works you will become a hero on the wall. Good bye Madexx."_ He looked at the floor and his fingers swiftly brushed the gun in his holster under his shoulder. _"Goodbye sir."_ He turned around and exited the room, the Marines escorted him to his limo and handed him a docket with new orders for the mission per the President.

Agent Madexx slumped into the back seat, the door closed and the limo roared to life to take him back to the Pentagon. He slowly opened the new orders, sealed by the President himself, to reveal what he had not wanted to see for himself. The project was just the tip of the ice berg, the power coming from the quantum machine at the Pentagon was now powering the entire facility wirelessly. The importance of keeping Terra Hulsey alive inside the system was now the matter of greater importance and the execution of Doctor Langdon, was second best. She had created a fake premise that Terra was now made a target and that her orders were from the President. They were not---it was a lie and he was now taken for a fool. _"Driver, step on it!!"_ The man shouted through the open window in the limo as they zoomed off into the distance to the Pentagon. He picked up the telephone in the back seat of the limo and rang up the commander of the first task force at the facility. _"Major Stromberg here."_ The man clenched his jaw for a moment. _"Major, Agent Madexx, lock down the facility and make sure that Team One does not go into the system with me! Do you understand no one in or out of the system!"_ The Major looked completely shocked on the other end of the line. _"But sir, the orders were given to Doctor Langdon to enter two minutes ago with the first team. They are already inside, sir."_ The man slammed his fist into the seat cochin in the limo, they were nearing the guard shake as they passed through the guard saluted the limo. _"Listen to me very carefully Major. I'm on the surface, get the second team ready for immediate departure into the system and send out an emergency recall order to team one, they are all in great danger. Doctor Langdon will kill them if she gets the chance don't underestimate her!"_ He slammed the receiver down and the chair skidded to a halt just outside the elevator doors. The door flung open and the man marched out and activated the elevator. He looked out at the base as a siren was now blaring the alarm, fences and gates closing, armed guards rushing around the complex, and he knew it was only a matter of time before something would go terribly wrong. The elevator waited patiently as he slowly stepped inside backwards, slid his security card and it began its descent into the complex.

The Major and two members on his team waited for the elevator to come to a stop and he greeted them as he walked out into the white corridor. _"Sir she has been sent the message but there has been no response from the team leader. What do you recommend?"_ The Major eyed him with a severe intensity that burned him deep in the pit of his stomach. _"We leave for the system now, get your team rigged and ready for departure and Major, you stay here just in case something else goes wrong."_ The Major had a confused look on his face but acknowledged the situation. The agent and the team members got him into a nano suit, out fitted with weaponry and body armor and started for the exit point. The repaired platform with that evil ring that spun up for the system to send them through. It was time, he was there and they were also. _"The system has been initiated, please stand by, all team members to the platform please. T- minus forty seconds for system activation."_ The male voice echoed through the hallways and the complex level that they were now on. The blast doors slowly started closing and they all stood on the platform, there were five of them, including the Agent. He had never been through this before, a first for him, but he had witnessed it with Terra Hulsey and the horrors that it had put her through, he thought if she could survive all this so could he.

_"T- minus ten--nine--eight--seven--"_

The men all huddled together on the platform as the artificial earthquakes started, the complex groaning and shaking as the system was getting close for activation. He thought of the Captain and that day in the desert, the meetings and the President. If all fails he knew he had done everything he could to make sure that national security was safe and not in the hands of a mad scientist my the name of Janet Langdon.

_"Five--Four--Three--Two--"_

He looked up and what he saw mesmerized him for the last seconds on this side of the system.

_"ONE!"_

The Milky Way galaxy was there, he felt like he could touch it with his fingers it was so close, and the blinding orange flash ripped him from it, tossed him like a rag doll into the system.

**_His new reality._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and leave kudos if you did!! Keep reading and have a great day!


	14. Behind the Scope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can an old Brotherhood Soldier, that got left behind, be the key to uniting the Gunners with the Brotherhood? Possibly even merging the two together in the Commonwealth? What plan does the sinister Doctor Langdon have in store for our heroes as the time ticks down for the ultimate showdown between this world and the 'real one'?

Through a long scope attached to a sniper rifle that sat high up on an old abandoned building, was a beautiful hazel eye, watching and waiting. The first orange flash he witnessed in the sky over a week ago had him curious, he knew what the synth relay's looked like, the blue hue to them but these were different and after his first one he started to notice changes. They were so very subtle at first, the little things that you notice, like a glass that moved or a picture frame that changed color, stupid little things, but it was enough for someone to take notice. He watched the sky for the other flashes of light, they came and went over a short period of time and things started changing faster. Now he sat watching where Doctor Langdon and her team had inserted, a deserted place that the gunners used for supply drops from time to time and he waited to see what they were up to. He spotted the Doctor first, she was considerably smaller than the rest of them and appeared to be in charge. There were six others, heavily armed with highly advanced weapons, and suddenly they were gone, a distortion field around each one of them but they were not hidden from his scope with the infrared settings on.

He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out as they walked in a file each one in a different pose looking around, their guns trained on everything that moved and slowly moved off into the buildings. His radio was laying in the dirt not far from the reach of his hand and it crackled some and fizzed just before the incoming transmission. He grabbed it without looking and turned it down to where only he could just barely make out the faint words that whispered through the speaker. His bipod shifted slightly as he held the radio in his hand, the butt of the rifle was still firm against his shoulder as it spoke and its words were more like a soft caress as they came across.

 _"Camelot---Osprey---Is the nest ready for feeding?"_ The female voice asked with confidence as the sky began changing with an incoming flash imminent. _"Negative Osprey six new hatchlings in the nest hold position."_ The faint sound of a far off vertibird changing course echoed off the empty walls below. He took his eye from the scope and looked up at the changing evening sky as the next orange flash burst through the fake clouds and slammed down into the area of which the others had just passed through. He quickly looked back through the glass lens to view the newcomers, and then the most unusual thing occurred. The other group came running back over to the new group of people standing there in the street below. The leaders of the two groups began to talk to one another and the two groups of soldiers were now beginning to form a circle around the man that was in charge of the later group.

Agent Madexx was feeling the pressure of the jump, the slamming of the insides to everything else and the clipping slideshow feeling that entry into the system had to offer. He hurled his guts all over the sidewalk, his team following suit as the other team ran up on them with their weapons drawn down. Doctor Langdon didn't look very happy, nor surprised one bit that he had come for her himself with a team he didn't really know or understand. She holstered her weapon over her shoulder as he stood upright and looked her in the eye. _"You were given an order to return to the Pentagon Doctor! I expect you to carry out that order without a fight, or do I have to send you back in a pine box?"_ His words were firm and unfaltering. His team was now making a semicircle around him with hers finishing it on her side. _"Well, look here what is this I see? You make a threat to me about going back with you and I see no reason to return in a pine box so--it is you that shall return in a pine box if you even return at all! I have made my life's work to get her and secure this technology from these people that don't deserve it! Not you or anyone else is going to stop me, not even Terra!"_ He pulled his gun up but was knocked back by two of his own men, the other team took turns slugging him in the face and body as hard as they possibly could. He fell to the ground in an agonizing yelp as they started kicking him a group of raiders jumped in and started attacking them. The man rolled off the sidewalk and into the storm drain opening out of sight for the time being. The gunfire ensued in the empty place, the **_Crack!--Crack!---Crack!_**

The machine gun fire, the screaming of raiders as they started to bleed out and die in the streets and the man that lay in the storm drain, hidden. A hollow, gripping pain ripped into the sniper's stomach, he knew what it was like to 'left behind' but not in this sense. He watched the exchange of gun fire and as it stopped the orange flash ripped away the survivors of the fight from the other side, all but that man. ** _But why? What had he done to make them leave him for dead there?_**

He got back on the radio with his vertibird. _"Osprey--Camelot--- The nest is empty, prepare for emergency drop and ran! Repeat emergency drop and run."_ He began taking his sniper rifle apart very quickly, still watching the streets below as it was the MO of the raiders in that area to go back after the firefight and complete what may have been left behind. He had the weapon broken down and packed into his backpack within forty five seconds, the radio in his left shirt pocket of the his old army fatigues and he raced down with some caution to the storm drain opening where the man fell into for safety. The vertibird was coming, the chopping of the air under its blades started to sound more like his heart beating out of his chest as he reached the street, it was deserted. He laid on the street and looked down inside the drain, the man laid there unmoving but still breathing. He slowly pulled himself into the drain and lifted the man up, shoving him back up onto the street and climbing out himself as the bird landed and his people ran over to collect the man. _"This man is mine! Get him back on the bird and call up the Captain, we have found a viable link to Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!"_ The man that had ran over to him tipped his flight helmet and ran back to the vertibird as he lifted his lifeless body up into his arms and carried him over to it. They got on the bird and the thing shuttered and shifted as they lifted off for the Gunner's Plaza.

Seeing a Gunner vertibird was a rare sight all of its own but to fly in one was something else. They only had five of them and they had kept them a very well guarded secret for a longtime. He knew the problems that might crop up if the Brotherhood found out about them and that made him feel, uneasy. The old man that he had now in his possession was a key asset to him, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot was the code name for Captain Terra Hulsey, they called her the killing machine. It was a nickname that made most of the Gunners blood run cold, frightened them and made them fearful during even the most routine missions, but not him, not Camelot. As they landed at the Plaza he slung the older man over his shoulder and took him inside to the medical room, where a Doctor by the name of John Lang would see to it that he was cared for and locked up where only Camelot would have access to him. Captain Wes, the leader of the Gunners would be waiting for Camelot in his quarters after he dropped off the unknown man to the Doctor. He knew this was a turning point for them, both on a mission level and in their personal lives. Upon searching the older man for anything of use after he laid him in the medical bed he found a folder, the mission docket from the President of the Untied States, a tool for the use of the man and a tool to save them all. He patted the agent and left him in the care of the Doctor as he started to round the corner he looked back at him, his salt and pepper hair, the cut and even his facial features. _"Doctor, do not cut any of his clothing, remove it very carefully and keep him under wraps as long as possible."_ The Doctor nodded to him as he started to unzip the man's nano suit exposing the skin on his chest. Camelot looked away and started for Captain Wes's quarters at a fast pace. He dropped his backpack into his own quarters and closed the door as he went down the hallway, clutching the folder in one hand and stroking the Brotherhood holotags on his chest with his other hand. He took in a breath and sighed as he entered Wes's quarters and closed the door behind him softly. Wes turned to him, a man of about five foot five, dark hair that had been mostly shaved off and a look of possible middle eastern descent to him. Camelot stood at the door for a moment before walking into the room, he was a man in probably forty or so, light brown hair that had a Brotherhood cut to it and very muscular at about six foot tall, a very beautiful white man, the very poster boy of the Brotherhood much like Danse but very different in some many ways.

 _"So you found out something about Whiskey Tango Foxtrot huh? Let's have it right quick!"_ Wes was acting short with him, this was starting to become something of a nasty habit since the first appearance of Captain Hulsey in the Wasteland, and something that he didn't much like. _"Yes sir here it is, her real name is Captain Terra Hulsey, she was part of some experiment or something. The man I collected today is part of this entire thing, his team turned on him and attempted to kill him and the other team that was here is obviously the enemy, they started the whole thing leaving him here."_ He handed Wes the folder as he thumbed through it quickly. _"So you believe this man has information on how to rectify the situation? Good take a rest for the night and we start the mission tomorrow."_ Camelot looked at him with mass confusion written over his entire face, he had not yet heard all the facts and now a new mission. _"What mission Wes?"_ Wes smiled and sat down at the chair in the center of the room. _"Well I'm so happy you asked Pete. We have sent scouts out on missions after the Paladin and the Captain. We have found out what they are up to and after they return from building that teleporter thing with the Railroad to go to The Institute we will take it over and capture them both. They have already started building it and now when they return they are ours!"_ He sounded half and when he spoke about the mission but Pete just nodded and left the room. _"Tomorrow than sir."_ Wes acknowledged him and Pete left for his quarters.

Pete laid down on his bed and looked into his memories, the Brotherhood and the Gunners. He felt the distance growing between him and Wes, it made him sad inside but he knew it was going to come. He remembered when the Brotherhood sent his team out into the Commonwealth in the first place, a recon mission to find the source of these radio signals and any other technology that had been left behind from the Great War. He was a Knight Captain, the Paladin that had been assigned to the mission had been killed in an unfortunate accident the day before when his vertibird exploded over the Adams Air Force base so it was only natural that he take the next team out into the Commonwealth. That was four years ago, his team was green as hell, but they were beyond eager and he had been blinded by this false sense of glory that the Elder at the time had bestowed upon him. He remembered the first night there, the cold creeping around them and the first to die. A young scribe that had come with them with the special training to pin point the signal source, she died quickly by the hands of the Super Mutants. He tried hard to save them all but was knocked out by a Behemoth that the Gunners had been hunting. The Gunners---they killed that monster only after it had enjoyed having his entire team for its meal, the blood over him as if he were dead but Captain Wes knew better of it. He was the best leader of a rag tag gang he had ever seen and he took Pete to be his prize for this fight. Wes was not only a Gunner, he was also a Slaver, the only one that dealt in Brotherhood soldiers for the most wealthy. He was stripped down, tied up and taken back to the Gunner Plaza, the main place of operations for perp and clean up. He was going to be sold to the highest bidder and he was a prize to be had by any that might have taken a good look at him. All the other Brotherhood soldiers that had been taken hostage, especially the women, were used to make children for the Gunners but only by Brotherhood men, never the Gunners themselves. They were kept in the lowest levels of the complex, all of them were and only a few were ever sold off.

Wes had seen that Pete was a fighter, a survivor and he wanted him for himself but the leader of the Gunners at that time, Captain Rick wanted him sold. So Wes had no other choice but to take him to the meeting place and sell him to a mysterious man. Rick and Wes took him into the Wastes that night, his hands tied and his mouth gagged so he couldn't escape. He knew the Brotherhood would eventually come looking for him and his team but they would think they had all died, even him. Rick had given Pete's tags to Wes, and Wes kept them in his pocket, he had a plan and that plan would prove to be the first turning point in his life. They left the plaza and were on the way to meet up with their mysterious buyer when Wes attacked Rick. Pete stopped in his tracks and decided not to interfere with this fight, it wasn't his. Wes jumped on the back of Rick and stabbed him multiple times in the kidney's, then as Rick fell to his knees Wes slit his throat from ear to ear, the blood pouring out over the dirt and his body flopping down to the ground with a thud. Pete looked at Wes, the blood lust in his eyes, Rick's blood all over his chest and face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the tags, he walked over to Pete and put them over his neck. He then cut Pete loose from his restraints. _"I'm not going to sell you Pete, no, I'm going to make sure that you are now bound to me and you will do as I say because you will now be the second in command of the Gunners. We need a man like you in the ranks, and you blood line to continue that useful soldier mentality that is you."_ Pete nodded and Wes took that as agreement, and all the while Pete was waiting to kill him and take the Gunners down. In the meantime he was ordered to shire children for the Gunners, in all thirty seven of them and Wes was more than pleased. But in the safety of their mothers, whom he had to force himself on some of them, he promised that when the Brotherhood returned to find him, they would all be back with them and so they taught their children the Brotherhood values.

Pete held the tags in his hand, Pete Astre was his name, the one they tried to take from him and his kin. Now he would have it forever and that name would be the keepsake of many to come. He knew that once Paladin Danse had been captured along with Captain Hulsey that would be the time to strike, the time to turn the Gunners into another regiment of the Brotherhood and those that didn't comply would die. Wes the slaver, the monster, he had stopped him from selling him, but the cost was so high that he felt he lost some of humanity along with it. He was sad for all the Brotherhood women he was forced to do things to without their consent, never again would he ever do that once he killed Captain Wes. He squeezed the tags, placed them back against the skin on his chest and a tear slowly rolled down his cheek for all the misgivings he had done to others to continue the fight. This next mission, it would prove to make the beginning of the end for the Gunners and everything they believed in, if they believed in anything at all.

That next morning the Agent woke up in a cell, solitary confinement, his wounds had been bandaged and food left for his consumption. He slowly sat up on his bed and eat some of the meal that had been prepared, a leg of dog possibly, and some sort of raw vegetable. The Gunners were running low on supplies so food was not something that was easy to get your hands on. Wes and Pete had a team getting ready when they were informed of the man's waking. The team ,lead by a man of possibly twenty five years old, Keith Issack took over the briefing as the two left for the man's cell, for a bit of information gathering. Pete was the first inside the room with him and Wes waited just outside the bars, as Pete looked down upon the man he slowly raised his bruised face up and smiled at him.

 _"Well this is something a little new for me, let me introduce myself, I'm Agent Madexx and I'm here because of you."_ Pete narrowed his gaze on him like a downturned frown and a bit a glare that had a fine zest to it. _"Yes you are Agent, tell me about those people that attacked you and more importantly about Captain Terra Hulsey."_ Agent Madexx stopped smiling, slumped against the wall at his back and sighed deeply. _"Oh where to start with that."_ He looked across the floor and examined Pete's shoes. _"Terra Hulsey is not the one to blame here, she was thrust into this world by the great Doctor Langdon and however much you think you understand about her you better take a look again. She fights for what is right and maybe what is considered wrong but she has never been a crowd pleaser, she doesn't think that way. She is trying to save this world from Doctor Langdon whom seeks to exploit it for everything it has and wreck it when it's all said and done, kill everything and everyone. That is what Langdon wants, she cares not for this place just what it has to offer. She was the leader of those groups that attempted to kill me. She's the one to die here not anyone else."_ His voice was so calm, cool and collected that it took Pete aback at what he was saying to him. It was like he almost couldn't comprehend what was happening and at the same time he understood it completely. _"The best thing for you to do and get her here and let me talk to her, then you shall see."_ Pete slugged him in the face and walked out of the cell approaching Wes. _"We need to secure her and the Paladin as soon as possible. I fear there will be an attempt on them both by this Doctor Langdon if you don't get them first."_ Wes was very adamant about this mission and Pete had no other choice but to agree.

Wes and Pete returned to the Plaza roof where two fully loaded vertibirds were on standby, Pete wore his power armor and Wes his combat armor. _"Listen up everyone, I don't want there to be any killing, we need these people alive is that understood?!"_ The crowd, their faces watching all replied in unison. "Sir, yes sir!" Pete turned back to Wes and donned his helmet. _"Let's do this."_ His tone was dark and subtle but Wes knew Pete was ready for whatever there was coming at him even if it were sideways.

Captain Hulsey and Paladin Danse had done everything they could with Virgil, the teleporter equipment was now ready to be built and the Railroad was now part of the pact thanks to Deacon. Hulsey let Deacon do everything himself and felt that she needed very little input for the pact to go well with these people. Deacon had made sure that Desdemona was on board with everything before they started to build the system and once they started Paladin Danse made sure the Railroad held up their end of the bargain, full support with the Brotherhood and the synths would see no harm if they didn't attack Brotherhood forces. They decided to build it at Sanctuary Hills, there was a huge contingent of Brotherhood there and Sturgis said he would help them.

So they did just that, everyone was very uneasy about the teleporter in the first place but she reassured them that this was sort of how she had gotten there in the first place so it had to work. She stood on the platform of the machine, Danse watched her as did so many others in the crowd, the blue light floating around her, so different from the system back at the Pentagon. A flash of blue light ripped her into The Institute, everyone's smiling faces had gone and now she found herself standing in the most destitute looking old complex she had ever seen. This jump didn't make her feel sick like the one's she had been accustomed too from the other side, possibly because it was such a short trip perhaps.

A man's voice was over the intercom, it was Father, or rather Shaun the long lost son of the Sole Survivor. She ignored his words and sped to the elevator, and as she rode it down to the level where it turned to glass, she could see all the progress they had made there since the Great War and now she understood why Doctor Langdon had come there seeking to take everything for herself. As she made it out of the elevator she slowly wound her way up to visit with the synth boy called Shaun, a remanufacture of Shaun for his mother, and boy was he in for the surprise of his life when he opened that door and say Captain Hulsey standing there instead of Nora Nolan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was interesting for everyone, hopefully its keeps the 'spark' as we continue down the road with this story and leave some kudos if you liked it. Thanks and stick around for more chapters soon!


	15. The Blurred Lines of Loyalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The land of confusion begins, the interesting and mundane now find out what it means to be on a deadline.

You never see it coming, when it does come you don't expect it to be there and if you happen to survive when it leaves, you wish for it to return. It's that battle between the rights and the wrongs, the what if's and the never will be's, these are some of the things that haunt everyone, just not all the time. Loyalty, what is it? Where does it come from? Where does it go when that time comes? Does it remain as a sleeping agent deep within, or does it waste away as the time ticks on?

**_Tick- Tock-Tick-- Tock--_ **

Maybe you can tell, and when you do figure it out, will it be the same for everyone? Possibly, and then again maybe not. Makes you think, doesn't it? His hands were sweaty, cool from the touch of this old steel and yet he felt at home, as if his journey were finally coming to its end and to be reunited with those he felt had lost him. Pete Astre was a man that got lost in time to the Brotherhood but he would soon find a way back, he hoped. The clock on the bulkhead of the vertibird ticked, the second hand moved and the pendulum inside, seen yet unseen, made gears turn and the sound continued.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock---_ **

Always looking forward, never back, you can't live if the past, or at least that's what he told himself. The vertibird shook gently over the currents of wind as they rode off beyond the sunset into the dusk and joined the twilight, he was going to make sure that things changed even if it meant his death. The sound of the clock was starting to overcome the sounds of the vertibird's engines, as they consumed their fuel, blew smoke across the air and belted the wind with its angry blades. He watched the second hand intensely as it continued on its insane journey, over and over again, around and around the face of it the hands would swing, always to begin again from some other beginning's end.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock----_ **

He knew Wes didn't suspect him or anyone else for that matter, over three quarters of the gunners were so loyal to him that Wes had no chance if he decided it were time and soon, yes, very soon, it would be. That famed land of 'Someday', oh it was coming, and it was approaching so very quickly but only he knew it. He would have to do more acts of inhuman injustices before it came though, and that,---well he hated himself for what he knew Wes would make him do. Alas it had to come to pass, it had to be done if only to ensure his loyalty to him before the fatal strike.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock----_ **

Arthur Maxson laid on the bed in Paladin Danse's quarters, he stared at the ceiling, the steel decking and its rivets all across the hull, down the wall and around the door, over the clock on the wall. He felt, renewed somehow. The danger that he placed these other soldiers in, it was a must, and they knew it but something about it didn't settle well for him. For the first time he felt like the entire plan was almost too perfect. The Prydwen was now in position over the Atlantic Ocean and the last thing to be done was something of magnificence and it only took the flick of a waist to make it so. Very few people knew the magnitude of this mission, the projection of the 'false' Prydwen over the airport and the stealth field now around the 'true' Prydwen, the false Prydwen had a sounds system on the ground to make the sounds of the engines as if she had never left. Oh the wonder of the plan so complex but also so very unique in that it alone would provide the proving ground for all these people that had the fear of, what if, instilled behind their eyes.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock-----_ **

The fear of uncertainty. Looking into that darkness, the vast unknown, and fearing what it might hold deep inside its tomb. Feeling the dread that it hid for those that looked and feeling that darkness looking back into these who dared to see it.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock------_ **

He was unafraid for himself, he held that begrudging fear for those around him, those closest to him, for they were the ones that would feel the brunt of it all and he would have no other choice but to endure the painful views of watching. He wished for it to all end, be over forever, only feeling the good over the bad and soon, someday will come and this will end and all he would feel is the good. He slowly rose up on the bed, swung his feet over the side and planted them flat on the steel floor. He thought about them both, how Danse loved her and how she wrapped herself around him, and they lived as if there was going to be no tomorrow. He wished he could have been like that, living in the moment instead of letting the moments drag on and pass away.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock-------_ **

The man that was now acting as Elder Maxson's replacement, Jackson Muldin, his face looking so much like that of Maxson that you would have been hard pressed to say that it wasn't him. He ran his fingers through his hair and across the five o'clock shadow of stubble that was now over his face. The scratch of it over his soft fingers made him think, as he let his hand fall away and wondered why he was to be the chosen one for this mission, other than so many obvious reasons. The clock over Maxson's bed sang in tune to that of the entire clock universe, marching away the seconds to no audience at all, into the silence known as time.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock--------_ **

He had seen the orange flash from the observation deck, then the one to follow it, and then the two that returned all the worry back again. They had been there, in reach, just out of his grasp. He knew there would be a time when he had to follow the orders and kill, but he felt the deaths of the soldiers he now had under his control weighting on him. They were alive and dead to him all at the same time, smiling and crying and yet he felt ripping, tearing of reality as the fight within himself made him have no sleep, for the night ran wild with his dreams. His goal was protect Maxson with his life, forever and nothing less.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock--------_ **

The song of time had no end, no stop only the rhythm of everything and everyone at its mercy, it's convenience and when the time came to stop it only stopped for a few, maybe even just one or possibly there was a small chance for many. Time had no friends and no enemies, it was untouchable and had no bias. It ran the motion of the universe with its perpetual motion and kept it on time, or rather in tune to everything that was and was not.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock---------_ **

Doctor Janet Langdon, sitting in the medical bay with the two teams of men she had taken back into the real world with her, the clock on the wall above her waited and watched. She sat with her back to it, the silence in the room ever shattered by the song it played as it waited. She didn't speak and neither did any of them. Not until another man entered the room in a pressed black suit and silver wrapped tie. His eyes were so very dark and cold, nearly colorless and all seeing. She looked up at him as he brandished his teeth to her in an unfriendly fashion. The twelve other men sitting around on the benches with her bearing witness to the atrocities he was about to commit against her, all knowing, all seeing and very, very unpleased with her under whelming performance of a simple task.

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock----------** _

The pace marched on as the man screamed at her, then he turned his fury on the rest of the men in the room and screamed at them. The time for banter between them all but had gone far away, and now it was unreachable. There had been no excuses as he pointed his finger at her, the silent screams belting the glass walls of the room, now declaring all of them insane as the eyes of time looked on. He stopped for a moment, the air from his lungs hot and dry, so much that he had to pause to even breathe the air in the room, it had been now filled with his ever present rage. _"You were given a direct order to return Terra Hulsey here for questioning. Agent Madexx is now presumed dead and now we have to send the task force in to clean up your mess and you will be going back in there with them. Do you understand me?!"_

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock---------** _

_Understand--Understand---understand---_

The echo through her mind almost lost the entire thing, what it meant, what he had said and even her thoughts of what had happened in the system that lead up to this point. Her attention span lost to the echo as her eyes followed it down the rabbit hole that opened in the center of the floor in the room. _"Doctor Langdon?!"_

The voice of this unknown man sounded as if it were under water somewhere calling out to her from a far. She looked around in confusion trying desperately to find the source of it and answer the beckoning call. _"Doctor Langdon?!"_

The anger backing it got worse as her vision blurred, she looked around the room but did not see as he was now right in her face. A double vision of nothing but something right before her eyes, the darkness there that she couldn't make out. In an instant it was all removed from her, to as she once was sitting sit, motionless on the bench. The man slapped her across the face with such force he knocked her from the bench she had been sitting and to the floor in one swift, fluid motion. He grabbed her by the collar as she looked back up at him from the ground, he back handed her from side to side twice.

**_'SLAP-SLAP!'_ **

She looked right into him, in the eyes looking for a soul and found nothing---emptiness and cold darkness of a nothing man. As her bleeding mouth made her remember she was still alive, the pain reeling in her face made her feel the shame of it and the anger behind this man's colorless eyes made her feel the fear that they instilled into the rest of the individuals in that room. She narrowed her eyes into his as he brought her face up to his, the bunched up suit in his clenched fist nearly choking her as the heat from his breath washed over her skin. _"Do your job Doctor **and do it well**. I'm only going to say this once so you had all better be listening this time. Kill Agent Madexx and take everything, after that you can **kill her**."_ The calm sounds under his breath made Janet shudder with contempt towards him. She knew what was at stake and if she screwed this up it was all over.

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock----------** _

He waited for an answer, the grasp on his suit was tighter than before and she huffed for air. _"Do I get all the resources this time?"_ He slowly loosened his grip. **_"Yes, as a matter of fact you do."_** He let go of her, the growl of his answer burned into her skull and she was tossed back to the ground. He stood over her as a triumphant tyrant over a peasant. _"You will all leave together with all the resources in two days time. You had better be ready because if you are not,--well, I don't need to spell it out for you now **do I?** "_ The rest of the men in the room looked at him with orders in their eyes, the must dos and must not dos written into their brains by forces unseen. He walked away, pausing in the doorway to shift his tie and press down his suit again before leaving them to the endless eternity of the clock's rampage on the wall over them.

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock-----------** _

Slaves to this clock, all of them, everywhere, everyplace and every dimension. Time marched on, it didn't wait for anyone yet it watched them all. The only true thing about time was that you just went along for the ride and had to make the best of it, no matter what. It wasn't like you could just get off and go home, no there was no exit from, no exit except death itself and even then nobody even knew if it ended there or if you went on another ride, another way, another life or not.

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock------------** _

Paladin Danse waited for Captain Hulsey to return, he had a transponder with him that showed him where she would be when she was to return to the surface. He waited for her in the dark just outside of the Glowing Sea, where she told him to wait for her. He watched the twilight walk across the sky and the stars peer out over the landscape as if playing some sort of forgotten game, long ago lost to people and their dreams. The small watch on his wrist played the tune to him as he sat, eating a protein bar and waited silently, listening to the faint sounds of an approaching vertibird. He turned back towards the sound of it, the sound of it coming faster now was not that of a Brotherhood bird but of something not quite right. He stood up, the protein bar dropping from his grasp and the bolt of white hot lightning hitting his power armor. The splash of it dancing around him, hopping across the ground wildly as the armor shutdown. It was an EMP blast from Pete's gun, the one he had made special for this mission only and he was not happy to find the Paladin all alone.

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock-------------** _

The watch he wore didn't stop, it was unaffected by the EMP. He was still awake as Pete approached with caution and the vertibird landed now far away, ready to collect their newest 'prize'. Danse looked up at him as he knelled by his side, a stun gun in his hand ready to make him sleep when Danse recognized him. _"Pete Astre?"_ Pete narrowed his eyes at him as the spark from the gun blazed near his neck. _"Where is she Paladin?"_ Danse swallowed, the air between the spark and the skin on his neck growing thick with the anticipation of pain. _"She'll be coming here to meet me soon, she's in The Institute."_ Pete smiled and sent the blazing weapon into his neck. Danse jolted for only a moment before succumbing to the pain and sleep that it brought onto him.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock---------------_ **

Pete waved over the waiting vultures from the idling vertibird, they scooped him up and carried him away to it like an angry swarm of ants, hungry for their next meal. He had wished that Captain Hulsey had been there but that was only minor details, he would have her in time and get back where they all belonged if everything worked as he knew it would. He walked over to a small group of Gunners in recon gear, _"You wait here for her, she is going to come here to find him and when she does make sure you persuade her to come with you if she wants him to live."_ He stepped back onto the vertibird as his men vanished off into the disappearing twilight of the scorched earth like cockroaches. He put his hand on the Paladin's shoulder as he slept for the trip to the Plaza. " _Danse I'm sorry. I didn't want it to come to this but it's the only way."_

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock------------------** _

Arthur Maxson, rather Mike Anderson, gave the order to conceal the Prydwen over the ocean. In a misty haze the mighty airship was slowly swallowed by the stealth field. He stood with Jackson on the observation deck, watching the vast ocean below and wondering if they had been successful, Captain Hulsey and Paladin Danse. He worried about them because he cared, it was hard to see at times, but it was true. Now the only other thing they could do was just plain wait.

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock--------------------** _

Nedra, Jackson's sister had been assigned to work with the head senior Scribe Neriah. They had been together since shortly after Maxson and Jackson's transformations. They were great scientists and Nedra had been hoping for a big break like this to serve on the mighty Prydwen. She was working on a new serum to reverse radiation damage and rebuild the genetic codes of everyone involved but she needed blood that was 'untainted', the blood of Captain Hulsey. She had agreed to it and after this mission, the end of this task force, she would allow her blood to be used as the base for the experiment. Nedra loved the Brotherhood and this was everything she had ever hoped it would be, as she laid on her small bunk under the number two ballast for the hydrogen that lifted this ship into the air. The sound of an alarm clock on one of the other nightstands, playing it's tune to make her sleep through the night and realize the next day's work was only yet to come.

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock---------------------------_ **

The vertibird landed safely at Gunner's Plaza, Paladin Danse was unloaded and carried down into the hell hole for 'inspection' by Captain Wes. Pete got him out of his power armor, giving instructions to not be messed with or moved from his quarters as he carried Danse over his shoulder into the 'inspection room'. Wes waited on a couch on the opposite side of the glass, watching Pete lower Danse to the floor and slowly put the leather guards over his forearms. He had stripped Danse naked, lifted him to the ceiling by the guards and was now on display for the perverted leader of the Gunners. He sat on his red couch and licked his lips as he drank from the shot glass, the mild sweet whiskey over his tongue. The clock on the wall opposite him looking on, waiting.

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock-------------------------------** _

Wes stood up as Pete gave Danse a shot to wake him up, the small cart next to him with the surgery tray on it waiting for syringe to be replaced and rolled away to a safe location. Wes stood only inches from the glass as he watched the purple liquid vanish from the needle into Danse's neck. Pete took the needle away, put it on the tray and rolled the cart into the farthest corner from them. He walked back to Danse, took his shirt off and tossed it to the floor as Danse began to come around. He locked eyes with Pete, he jerked as he found no ground beneath his feet and slowly relaxed himself to hanging by the leather around his forearms. Pete looked over at the glass and Wes tapped it twice with his knuckle, smiling for what he thought was in store.

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock--------------------------------** _

Pete looked back at Danse, he was now rubbing the side of his face on his bicep as Pete again locked eyes with him and put his arms around him. It made him cringe, uncomfortable to his touch and anger boiled just under his surface. Pete put his lips against Danse's far ear, out of sight of Wes, his audience. _"Listen Paladin, listen very closely, close your eyes."_ Danse closed his eyes and listened to Pete's breathing as he was now completely up against his skin. _"You are going to get out of here after Captain Hulsey gets here. You will both leave together, unharmed and I will kill Wes. This place has almost three hundred Brotherhood soldiers and their children in it, on the lower level. I have control of almost everyone here, these Gunners want to become Brotherhood and with your help we can make this a new arm of the Brotherhood."_ Pete kissed Danse's ear, sucking on the lobe making Danse pull away from a moment. _"I have to do this or he will kill both of us. He's a sick son of a bitch and if you don't help me we will all die here, even her."_ Danse stopped fighting, Pete pulled back and locked him in the eye. _"Just relax and think of her."_ He wasn't sure what he meant by that until he kissed him on the lips. Danse closed his eyes and thought of Terra but he was too tense and Pete stopped as the tapping on the window started again.

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock------------------------------------** _

Pete glared at the glass. He walked over to it and an intercom fizzed and crackled. _"He's too tense I need to have some alone time with him."_ Wes flipped the switch. _"Fine but when the woman gets here you better be ready."_ Pete nodded to him and lowered Danse to his feet. He handed him his shirt from the floor to cover himself and Pete lead him by the leathers down the hall to his quarters. Danse stood still as Pete closed the door and locked it. _"Are you sure this will work?" He asked as Pete had him sit on his bed. "Yes but only if Wes thinks I'm making love to you. I will have to eventually and Terra. I don't want this but I have no other way to make him vulnerable. He can't help himself and when the time comes it'll be over quickly."_ The sounds of footsteps approached the door, the key was in the lock. Pete pushed Danse back onto the back, and got on top of him. The door slowly cracked open as Pete locked lips with Danse, he closed his eyes and acted the part as the door closed again. Pete put his hand at the back of Danse's head, cradling him as he slowly kissed him deeper and Danse slipped a little by grunting into him as he felt his tongue flick his and he responded as he would have to Terra. Their breathing was heavy, and the sounds of kissing grew louder as the footsteps slowly faded away down the hall. Pete pulled back, Danse looked at him with a bit disbelief and they both looked at the closed door. _"Please let me up and don't do that to me again unless you have to."_ Pete smiled as he got off of Danse and helped set him up. _"I won't if I don't have to. I won't let Wes deface you or her, I won't even let him touch the two of you but you know what that means...that I have to do all the dirty work and I hope that you are okay with that."_ They sat on the bed, watching, waiting and wondering when this thing was going to come to a head. _"Yeah I'm okay with that Pete, it's good to see you again, and that you're alive and well."_ Danse put out his hand and Pete shook it as they waited, listening to clock sing on from behind the wall somewhere out of sight, out of mind. 

_**Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock--------------------------------------------** _

Captain Hulsey found herself standing just one thin piece of glass from what the Sole Survivor of Vault One Eleven had been looking for since she had been unfrozen. The boy, Shaun, or at least the boy version of him. She knelled at his level and looked at the boy as he watched her through the floor to ceiling window pane. _"Who are you?"_ He asked tilting his head from side to side with curiosity. _"I am the one that has been tasked with finding you. I need you to do me a huge favor Shaun, do you know what that is?"_ She smiled at him and he was still not sure. _"No."_ His reply was no surprise to her. _"I need you to call Father over here, can you do that?"_ He started to look around the room for him. _"I thought he would have been here waiting for you. Father? Father? Father where are you?"_ Terra stood up, looked at her watch for a moment and waited as the doors slid open and Father walked into the room. The look on his face was priceless to her, he was indeed very surprised and now he was left to make a very hard decision.

The clock on the wall it played on--- _or did it?_

**_Tick-Tock-Tick-To-_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that this Chapter brings in something new, something old and something --different. If want you can leave me some kudos and better yet, keep waiting as the next chapter is right around the corner. Have a great day if you aren't having one already and thanks for reading!! :)


	16. The Ending of Another Beginning's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Institute, the meetings and the proposals all wandering off into the distance--does Father believe her? Does she believe in herself? The why's of her actions? Can Danse and Pete Astre break the cycle or will it all end in demise, let's just see.

Captain Terra Hulsey was standing toe to toe with Father, the enigmatic leader of The Institute. He was elderly but didn't appear at all frail, no not him. He was not only smart but cunning and this was now his game, on his turf and what things she had to offer to him, well--let's just say he wasn't so very sure she was even telling him the truth of the matter. He had spies on the surface, many of them actually, their eyes were everywhere, like the birds and the bees. He had waited for this fateful moment for a long while, planning and watching while he waited. Now was the moment of the hour, the time had come and all the clocks had mysteriously stopped.

Father took his gaze away from her for a moment, the synth Shaun stood still inside his glass prison and Terra turned and looked at the clock on the wall behind her. They all watched the second hand stay perfectly still, the perpetual motion of the universe had stopped and it would soon start again. She looked back at Father, his eyes wide with amazement and Shaun slowly sat on the floor putting his head in his hands, not looking anywhere in particular. Father smiled at Terra and pointed at the clock on the wall and looked at his watch and back at the wall. _"Do you understand what this means? What you have done?"_ Terra shot him a glare. _"I have not done this, not intentionally, but if you want it to stop--as I can see that you do-- then you and I have much to discuss and business to attend to before things get to far gone and out of our control. Now what do you have to say about that?"_ Father stopped, his hand slowly dropped and he looked as if he were far more ill than she had originally anticipated.

 _"Well Captain, I had thought hard and long about our meeting like this and I have to say that you are nothing of the sort that my people have told me about you. You are a shining example of what things could be like if people just listened to reason and I understand why you have come."_ She was taken by his speech of sorts, he didn't seem like the type of man that would play this game with her, the game of words. _"Oh, I can't imagine what you're people have said about me but rest assured that I'm not a murderer, I just kill those that need the killing, and then there are other things that have come to pass under the way of my hand but that is for my judgment day alone."_ Her gaze never left him as he slowly paced out of the room and into the room beyond the sliding doors, she followed him reluctantly as the conversation started to continue, and the change happened..............

The earth rippled, things moved, some of them fell to the floor but just before they hit the ground to shatter they opened like flowers, and the pedals flowered around, and in that instant the items gently dissolved into ashes and vanished. The ticking of all the clocks everywhere, in this world and the real one ran faster for the amount of time they had stopped, as a way to catch back up to the space time continuum. As if gravity itself reminded them it was time to reclaim the rhythm. Father looked back at Terra as the sparkling ashes slowly vanished into the floor and there had been no smell of burning, no smell of fire, nothing, just the passing away of these things into another dimension. He smiled as he examined her curiosity in a way that could only be surmounted to that of a child in wonderment of the surrounds in which they now stood.

 _"I understand that these things, these situations, have been getting worse?"_ She asked, her eyes now clear and bright as they found him and locked back on. _"Yes that's correct. As long as the opening between the dimensions is accessible this will eventually end both worlds."_ He stopped and stood overlooking the center of the levels below, the people walking around talking, the elevator and the water flowing though. _"This was to be the future of mankind, and now it's all in jeopardy. I know that you have come here to ask questions, and make a proposal, but will that be enough to rectify the situation and make it change back to the way it was once again? Do you believe that?"_ His question was in truth, the word believe cemented it into her mind and she knew how to respond only after a few short seconds of fight with her thoughts so tangled among themselves as they were.

 _"Yes, I do. I believe it as much I believe you and I are both standing here today, in this moment talking about how real this whole thing is and will be if we don't do something. You and I are the only ones in the position to do so, I believe you understand that, otherwise you wouldn't be talking to be right who you? Taking the risk to talk to an 'outsider', not unless you believed as well."_ He looked away and smiled at the point of it, she got his goat and now she would run with it. That was something he had not anticipated and now the ball was in his court, and he was unsure if he could out shoot her. _"I would like a tour of this place and then after the relaxation of your people we will talk about everything and the very special proposal I have for you. It's not just about the people here or on the surface or even where I came from. It's also about your life."_ He was suddenly shocked by this, she had things hidden away deep from him in her mind that made it impossible for him to see the outcome of their next meeting and now he felt worry. _"As you wish I will be waiting here for you please take a look around and talk to my people. You will see that I have nothing to hide from you Terra."_ She smiled and shook his hand. _"We shall see won't we Father."_ She turned around and started to walk down the stairs to the BioScience area to find what Virgil needed.

She slowly darted into a secure location, hacked the terminal there and made her way into the mainframe where all the data on the synths was stored. "Come on." She whispered under her breath as the loading was slow coming but finally it was displayed on the screen. She frantically searched the database to find Danse's true identity, she ripped the information from the system, found the shadow copies and deleted them as well, making sure any trace of him had been disposed of. When she had done that she shut down the terminal and slowly entered Virgil's lab, looking for the cure for the FEV he had injected himself with and his holotape to give to Doctor Li. She needed Li to follow her back to the Brotherhood, it would take everyone working together to get this to work and now was not the time for a foul up. She was finished, nothing had seen her and so she made a break for it out of the BioScience labs and into the open, securing the door behind her as if it had never been unsealed. She had been lucky, thankful for all that coding she had done back at home and now was time to meet and greet everyone, they all knew who she was and now she was to make herself their ' _friend'_.

She started by visiting the Advanced Systems area and spoke to Doctor Li. She gave her the holotape proving that Virgil was still alive and became very shocked that Doctor Li was angry that Father had lied to her about everything. She got her to go back to the Brotherhood and that was enough for her in that area. _"Terra, thank you telling me the truth about Virgil if it had been anyone else I wouldn't have believed them. I know that the Brotherhood has told you things but have they told why they wanted me to come back to them?"_ Terra smiled and nodded. _"Liberty prime but it's not what you think. When the time is right Doctor I'll fill you in along with Elder Maxson, I hope that I will see you again very soon."_ She put her hand out and Doctor Li shook it firmly. _"Terra be careful, not everyone here understands what going on and now I feel as if not everything is as it seems."_ Terra acknowledged the facts and left her there, watching her leave with the confidence that things would return to a semi-normal state.

Next to visit was Allie Filmore from Facilities, _she was a bitch_. Terra didn't think much of her, she attempted to be friendly towards her but let the only short conversation they had go in one ear and out the other. Now she knew what Li meant about these people, her condescending attitude alone made her cringe at the thought of the next person to talk to, hoping they weren't so nasty and rude to people as she had been to her. Terra knew people like her in the past and they always met a nasty and rather disgusting end, much like the end of John McKeenly. He was like that and it was no wonder he went down in flames, as she walked away she could see Filmore exploding from some botched experiment in a lab, and it made her smile oh what a satisfying thought.

She walked over to the Synth Retention Bureau and met up with a very under whelming Justin Ayo who seemed as unenthusiastic to see her as he would have liked to watch paint dry in a frozen wasteland. She just said hello and allowed him to go back to the conversation he was having with a synth that wasn't listening to him very well. The discussion turned to argument when the courser was called into the intervene. It was a bit of a debacle as the synth slumped to the ground after the courser snapped the crap out of him with some sort of lightning gun and the 'almost fight' had ended before it had a chance to begin.

She slowly slipped away to back to BioScience again, talking to the only person that seemed happy to see her there a man named Clay Holdren. He was friendly and joyful to give her a tour around the area he worked in, the plants and animals there. His eyes were so happy that she was almost sad that he worked there, the rest of his coworkers were so toxic and the thought of it rubbing off on him made her a little uneasy. _"Thank you Clay I hope to work with you again sometime." He smiled and nodded at that. "Oh I would love to see you again Terra. Please stop by anytime." He waved he off as she turned and walked back to meet with Father again, this conversation would bring to the table one of_ the most devastating things Father would ever have to deal with and she hoped that he would survive it.

She walked into Father's quarters, he sat watching the doorway and stood as she approached. _"Please sit down and explain everything to me the best you can."_ His voice was calm and filled with the peace of understanding. She sat down and took in a deep breath. _"I hope you understand that I came here with a mission, it concerns every living thing in the universe and if we fail we all die and this all comes to an end on the molecular level."_ He turned a whiter shade of pale as the words brushed his ears and the cog wheels inside his mind turned and the understanding of the magnitude of the situation hit him right between the eyes. _"I'm listening."_ His reply was short and ready for the bad news. _"I will try to start where it all began but I'm not sure if that will even make sense at this point."_ She interlocked her fingers and laid her hands in her lap as she thought about how to put the situation they all found themselves in, the midnight hour she called it.

 _"Father, I was sent here for a number of things, this place was not meant to be real in the sense that it was tangible. You see I am from another dimension, and the people that sent me here are from far in the past, to steal the technology here, take it back and make it for use in my place, my time. What we didn't expect was my getting injured and now I am unable to return to that place, I will forever be trapped here. The more people that come here from my plane of existence, the more unstable this place will become and the two worlds will collide even if we manage to stop them, that's way I have to have our help now, time is running out. I have found a way to jam their signal and render their equipment useless, but they have to get in here with us first and install that equipment in the Olivia Satellite station for it to work."_ Father looked at her with some suspicion as to why they would have to install it there or why let them into the system in the first place.

 _"You look confused is there something wrong?"_ Father shifted and leaned forward. _"Why do they need to have it installed here?"_ He had a point. _"Well for them to bring in the task force they need a relay on this side that is open continuously and stable. The teleportation relay on our side can only stay open for a maximum aperture of fifteen seconds, and that is not long enough for the people and equipment to get through to this side."_ He frowned at this, the idea wasn't setting well with him. _"Father you need to listen to me, once they start that thing up here the Brotherhood and everyone else will come down on them like flies on shit. They will have no chance and that's when we jam the signal, stop the relay and once it explodes here the explosion will transfer to the other side and seal it off indefinitely. It will all be over very fast, the Brotherhood will provide all the support it can and that's why we need you and your people to support this as well. They are targeting you Father, they will send a team of assassins here to kill you and take everything they can from here before they leave, that I can promise you if you don't help us defeat them once and for all. I also have a personal favor to ask of you when this is all over but that will wait until then."_

He sat back in his sat and mulled it over. _"What do we get in return for this help?"_ She smiled and pulled a vial of serum from her pocket, handing to him. _"You see that? That will keep you alive for a very long time and if you can make more of it, forever I imagine. The sickness you have will reverse and you will be able to continue your work here for as long as you wish, you will no longer be a slave to time."_ He looked at it, examined it and whispered. _"Cobat."_ She smiled and nodded as he looked back up at her. _"Yes sir, that's how they have all stayed alive this long right there in the palm of your hand, but the other alternative is we put your mind into the body of a fourth generation synth and then again you can live forever if you wish."_ He put the vial in his pocket and looked back at her with conviction. _"If this works and we do stop them I am forever in debut to you. I agree to have a synth army ready and all the equipment ready for this plan, provided you leave me with the schematics to make everything we need for this mission. I will cooperate with the Brotherhood of Steel, as well as the Railroad and the Minutemen. You have my word."_ He held his hand out and they shook on it, the last stone turned and the plans were now in place. _"There is a signal to listen for on your radio's, broadcast over the classical music channel, you'll know it when you hear it. Then will be the time to strike. It will be embedded with everything you need from locations, to numbers to fire power. Thank you Father and lets win this for everyone's sake."_ She handed him a holotape with everything they needed for the mission. They smiled at each other he waved to her as the blue flash wrapped around her and she off.

He pulled the vial back out of his pocket and looked it over, shaking it some when a courser came to him, X6-88. He handed the vial to him, _"Get this to Doctor Holdren for cloning and re-manufacture. We have a job to perform."_ X6-88 took the vial from him and walked away briskly. Father knew what was going to happen and he wondered if she knew the truth about everything they had been doing, why this started in the first place, wondering if she was the why. He put his hand on his forehead and told himself to think better of it, because this was now the end of another beginning that would have ended this beginning if they didn't intervene and stop the catalyst from reentering the system to destroy every last living thing that ever was. He stood at the railing, watching everyone and felt their terror, the terror they had not yet realized as they moved around unaware that it was happening without their consent, and soon it would be upon them without warning. His hands began to shake and he gripped the rail to stop them. Would they survive or was this all for not?

Terra teleported back to where Danse had been waiting for her, into the trap laid out by the Gunners. She was in her armor, the blue flash snapping her into the soft soil and she was suddenly aware of imminent danger as Danse was gone, the protein bar in the dirt and enemies appearing on her heads up display. She turned and drew her weapon just in time for the dancing lightning to ricochet off her to the ground and zap all the gusto out of the fusion cell and ground the armor to the earth. She fell to one knee, the red lights flashing in her helmet as the systems all started failing, the Gunners all around her, she dropped her weapon and fell on her side. The stars bright and slowly filling the sky above them as they ripped her helmet off and she feel out cold into the night. The Gunners vertibird landed not more than two minutes later, Pete Astre disembarked the bird and walked over to her where she lay followed by a horde of Gunners ready to collect her. He crouched down beside her, brushed her hair from her face and nodded. _"That's her alright, get her aboard, let the games begin my friends, the games begin---"_

She was carried off to the bird and lugged into the cargo bay, Astre sat next to her as she slept, he waited to see if she would wake without help but that didn't happen. He took his gloves off and let his fingers gently brush the soft skin of her cheek, she so warm and vibrant compared to anyone else he had even seen, she was so pure and clean. He wanted to press his lips to hers and taste her, the smell of her scent was so exotic as he sat next to her that he breathed it in gently so it couldn't intoxicate him. Danse had told him a lot about her but he wasn't ready to experience her first hand. She was everything he told him and more, so much more he couldn't list it all.

They were soon at the plaza, and he didn't want to take her in there. He didn't want to do unto her what had to happen, or to Danse, but he clenched his teeth as she was unloaded and taken for inspection. All her gear removed, even her uniform and placed in Pete Astre's quarters storage area for safe keeping. He carried her in his arms to the room where Paladin Danse was already hanging from his forearms, waiting, with a gag in his mouth, completely naked, as she was brought in. The leathers were carefully wrapped over her forearms and she was strung up for the 'audience' to see. Danse jerked slightly as he heard it, the sound of the door opening and closing again, he had to play his part as instructed by Pete or it would never work, but he could smell Terra's scent in the air behind him and it drove him crazy inside. There came a tapping on the glass and Pete looked over as the tapping was in a code.

**_'TAP-TAP--TAP-TAP-TAP'_ **

He nodded, the surgery tray waiting next to her, the needle ready, he got the injection prepared and slowly eased it into her neck, releasing the liquid into her blood as to wake her. Captain Wes was standing just inches away from the glass on the opposite side, his breath fogging it up, watching and waiting with great anticipation. Pete pulled her leathers hard and her back was now against Danse's, they now were at the mercy of a sick pervert and a man that challenged him for a cause to create revolt amongst the ranks of Gunners. Caught in the cross fire of a battle that had raged on for four years. Wes smiled from behind his looking glass, a cigarette in his fingers of one hand and whiskey in the other. Danse closed his eyes as her warm skin fell against him, he could see her in the reflection of his mind and as she came to the intercom opened and Wes's voice filled the room with its nasty, rasp.

_"Well Camelot, you have your orders, I expect you to carry them out **to the tee--** " _

He released the button and started laughing like a monster inside the sound proof room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this--as always leave kudos and stick around for the new chapter to hit! Thanks for taking timeout of your day to read this and have a great rest of your day!


	17. The things dreams are made of....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladin Danse learns who Pete Astre really is by spending the night with him in his quarters, his old friend found a way to 'redefine' himself within these walls, to keep those around him sane and keep his mind in the game all the way through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First song for this is U2: I can't live with or without you 
> 
> link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzeDqRhM09w
> 
> and the second song is
> 
> Chris Issak: Wicked Game
> 
> link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D3Nl1GZzuw
> 
> I know I play a lot of music in my works, I like it and I feel that it captures the 'mood of the moment' and I hope that in this chapter that it really plays well into the mind of those that read it.

Pete Astre, known to the Gunners as Camelot, was a man of many traits and qualities. He was a lot like Danse in some ways but completely different in others, he did what he had to do to get a job done, even if he didn't agree with it. He was a big picture kind of guy and that's what set him apart from everyone else that had been captured by the Gunners. He and Danse, they were Brotherhood soldiers, and Pete would have been a Paladin upon his return if he hadn't ended up there. They sat on his bed, waiting for any sounds or whispers from behind his door. Danse looked at him with a bit of shy lost envy in his eye and looked away again. _"Could I get something to wear please? Even if it's just for a little bit."_ Pete stood up and nodded to him, as he turned his back digging around in bag for a pair of boxer briefs for him Danse stared off at the wall.

Pete soon handed him a pair of black underwear and turned his back to him again as he stood up and put them on. _"Thanks."_ He said as he plopped back down on the bed, he looked around the room, noticing all the _'little things'_ on the shelves and one included a record player. Many records were leaning against it and the other small trinkets that lined the shelves along with it. His eyes slowly scanned across them when Pete dropped back down onto the bed, reached under the foot of it and pulled out a pair of nuka cola's, handing one to Danse.

 _"Here, now we celebrate for the coming of a new age. The coming of a better tomorrow."_ They cracked open the drinks, the fizz -pop- of the carbonation leaving the glass vessels and now the consumption of said liquid. Danse pointed at the record player, _"What is that?"_ Pete smiled, taking another swig of cola and laughed gently to himself. _"That is a record player, those things next to it are records and they play music on them. The women like them when --well-- when I make love to them at their request."_ He laid back on the bed, interlaced his fingers behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. _"Danse, do you know what dreams are made of?"_ He smiled as he let the rocket shaped nuka cola bottle slowly drop to the floor on its bottom without spilling it. _"Oh yeah, I think I know where you're going with this. Its different for everyone you know but for me it's making love to Terra. I have been with some others in the past but none of them hold a candle to her."_ Pete smiled widely, he knew Danse better than he thought and he found a place to set himself at ease as he spoke with him, like a true friend.

 _"You know Danse, I understand that you came out here looking for Cutler, and you found him. We were there, not far from you, and as a Gunner slave at the time we could have captured you and your team but now I'm glad we didn't. I had a different outlook on life at that time and now I understand why things are like this, the big plan and everything for a reason. I'm not a slave anymore and I'm certainly not anyone's fool."_ Danse finished his drink and let the bottle rest on the floor near his feet. _"Never said you were Pete, I missed you after you had gone. I'm sorry your team didn't make it, I just hope that those here with you can make the change and return to the Brotherhood, that's where all of you belong. I hope you understand that as I do."_ Pete stopped smiling as the memories of the bad things he had done to get where he was in this place began to call out to him in the back of his mind. He winched at it as if it were some invisible pain, racking its nail across a proverbial chalk board and making that horrible screech off in the distance somewhere. _"I understand, I wanted to ask you something Danse, and don't think of me as one to take advantage but do I have your permission?"_ Danse looked back at him, he wasn't sure what he was asking but he knew deep down he had to say yes. _"You do, just don't make me regret it in the end."_ Danse laid down next to him, folding his hands over his chest and watching the ceiling as he listened to Pete's breathing.

 _"I want to tell you about some of what I have done here, and a bit of it makes me feel--ashamed of myself, but we had no other options. I remember when I was first brought down here, after inspection and I could heard Wes and Rick fighting over me. Rick wanted to rape me, he wanted me to be submissive to him and Wes wanted me to have sex with the women so he could watch, so they could get pregnant and make more soldiers for the future of the Gunners. You see all the females that the Gunner's had forced themselves on, which wasn't many, they never had kids until one of the captured Brotherhood men was forced to-- well you know. That was the real driving force behind capturing Brotherhood soldiers, they could produce and they figured if the men could then so could the women. I was tasked with taking those that weren't allowing themselves to be taken by anyone, even by force and this one girl she was so scared they felt bad for her and she ran over and wrapped herself around me."_ His voice cracked a little bit and he stopped to take in a deep breath.

_"She was just eighteen years old. Her birthday was the day they left the Capital for the Commonwealth and she was a Scribe, a smart little thing, just got caught by the wrong people. Her clothes he been ripped a little, one of the other Gunners had attempted to force himself on her but was beaten off by the rest of her team, they were all male. Wes was angry with this and knowing the Rick hated me he thought that she would be best to be paired with me. They had me in a holding cell at the time and when the door opened and she flew in like that I--I put myself between them and her. That's how I got my name, Camelot. If they were going to get to her they would have to come through me and they all stopped when they saw us standing there like that. She had soft brown eyes and brown hair, her skin was olive colored and she reminded so much of my wife when we first met it pained me."_

_"Oh I miss her, my wife. We were young lovers when we got married at the Citadel, I was twenty seven and she was eighteen. We have two kids and when I left I had another one on the way. But not to get side tracked back to that young scribe, her name is Tiffany. She's still here and I still make love to her when they want us to. God damn it I wish I didn't have to take her on that journey but at least I made her feel love and not pain for her first time. I love women, they deserve to be loved and respected, the female form is just so, exotic. When I held her in my arms and protected her from them that day all I could see was my wife, Stephanie. I kissed her when Rick came in and we started making out like teenagers in front of him, so they had us dragged off to the ' **breeding room.'** It had been set by the Doctor, it was filled with soft beds and couches to make out on and make love if you got lucky."_

_"They locked us in there, Wes was watching through one of the mirrors as he liked to do but I didn't care. I had been alone, in that cell for three months before this happened to me and she was all that mattered in that moment. I wrapped myself around her and laid her on the bed gently was she trembled under my touch. She asked me, "Does it hurt?" It was only then that I figured out she was untouched, a virgin girl laying in my arms and looking to me for her first time. I had to lie a little, I didn't want to but I knew it would work out for the best if I did so I told her a white lie. "No," I said to her soft and gentle like. "Once you get past the fear of it, it opens up doors that you never knew existed." She smiled at me and we continued to make out as I slowly undressed her. She started to moan into me in a whisper as I sucked on her neck, she skin was so smooth and warm to the touch all I wanted to do was swim in her oceans."_

_"Part of the reason we were both is willing is the fact that the Doctor had injected us both with a special drug, one to make sex more pleasing, relaxing and for those with trauma healing, or at least that's what she told us. She was right in some regard to it and it did so much more. She actually wasn't sure what all it did but it did everything you could conceivably dream up in your mind. I felt her in every way possible, she finally closed her eyes when she kissed me and that's when I lost myself to her." Danse sat up and looked into his face, "What do you mean 'lost' yourself?" He wondered about that statement, he sort of understood what it was but he wanted him to tell what it meant to him. Pete stopped, mulled it over in his thoughts by sucking on his lower lip for a second and released it as he started looking up at Danse with the answer at the base of his throat. "Well, I tricked my mind into thinking she was my wife and I loved her like I loved my wife. I knew she was going to get every bit of me when she curled into my body with hers and they way I held her. Oh man-- every time I think of her I get hard. I can't help it but it felt so good when I had her, I feel like I did wrong but if I didn't do that, they would have done bad things to us for hours before killing us both for sport."_ Danse laid back down, on his side and looked at the Side of Pete's face as he started to continue with his story and he stopped him by putting his hand on his chest for a second and pulling it back. Pete looked over at him with a concerned look on his face. _"Does it help you to talk about it?"_ Danse asked as a bit of awkward silence. Pete smiled at him and returned his gaze to the ceiling _. "Yes, I think it does. The women they come here sometimes to talk to me, some of them want to be held and others just want to have me fuck them so they can feel....loved."_ Danse smiled and nodded as he laid his head down against the soft pillow.

 _"Oh you know how it can be, a woman so ready that all you have to do is create that warm loving breeze across her skin and watch her fall right into you, like a leaf falling from a tree into a stream. That's how Tiffany was, as I exposed her tender, soft skin patch by patch and I kissed her it just got more intense. She started to make me ache in ways I had forgotten, and I had to be easy on her when I finally got her naked. She almost wanted to cover herself up but at the last second but she stopped and laid there looking back at me."_ His gaze narrowed as he focused in on the memory of her. _"She had this look in her eyes, the look of want, desire and love for lust, the way some women just are. I laid on her raw, naked as a jay bird for what seemed like hours, before I decided to go down on her and taste her sweet water before I tainted it with my seed. I have never had a girl roll so hard into my mouth as she did, and with every suck or lick she damn near screamed out. Hearing her voice filled with pleasure like that makes it hard not to just pound the hell out of her when she's doing that, she couldn't help it but when she had her first orgasm it was unbelievable, it lasted for minutes and I'm not joking around."_ He rubbed his face some before continuing on. _"She was so hot and slick from all the sensation I had just exposed her to that she felt like butter melting in my hands. I slowly pulled my body back up on top of hers so she could wrap her arms around me and make out with me when I started to climb inside her body. I had a feeling that would be how she wanted it and I was right, as soon as I pushed just a little into her and I felt the pressure there I held it. She was around me like a chain on the leg of a prisoner, tight and ready for the feeling of it."_ Pete's hand instinctive lowered to cover his rising erection as he talked about his _'encounter'_ with her. He wanted to stroke it away, let it flow out of him and feel that satisfaction of an orgasm.

_"I started to push a little harder and when I passed her threshold she gasped. I thought I hurt her but she grabbed the back of my head and whispered in my ear, to do it harder. I was surprised but I did as she asked and I stroked her gently at first and buried myself to the hilt in her. She let out a little moan and then I lost all control and started banging her hard and fast. She was squeezing me so damn hard I almost couldn't breath as I started moving us both up the bed farther. The heat of the act, the sex were we indulging in, it was so intense that we were sliding across each other over our sweat and she was screaming out as I was getting close, so loud that when I came into her and I moaned out loud as I could, we shook that room. We were shaking, trembling and melting into each other as we laid there breathing like we had just run a marathon. That was the most intense sexual encounter I have ever had here with anyone. She got pregnant, her first time and I nailed her. I'm glad she got to have love and pleasure instead of the alternative, she's now in love with a guy named Paul, he helped deliver the baby and now they care for it. It's best that way and I'm happy for her."_

Danse laughed a little, just a slight chuckle and looked over at him. _"Your wife still looks for you to return, she had your baby while you were gone, a boy and his sister and brother help her look after him. They all miss you Pete and when this is over I will make sure they see you again."_ Pete looked over at him surprised and relieved. _"Thank you Danse. That means the world to me."_ Danse smiled as a vision of Terra filled his mind, he was holding her as they looked up at the night sky. Pete watched his expression changing and made a assumption. _"Oh you're thinking about her aren't you?"_ Danse smiled again put didn't even hid the fact this time. _"Yeah. I remember the day I met her, at the Police Station. She came in like a whirl wind, a soldier with some weaponry that made some of our stuff look like kids toys. She had this accuracy and precision to her that you couldn't match even if you tried. When she was hurt and I took inside to care for her I knew, I knew that I was going to hold her and she was going to make me feel whole for the first time. We laid outside looking up at the night sky one time and the music she played for me made me sleep for the first time I had been there, after everything, every little fucked thing, she was the one to bring me back. She made me feel again. I looked for you Pete, I really did and when I found some of your team dead, but not by the hands of mutants I knew you were alive. I'm beyond happy to be back with you again and that we will continue the Brotherhood mission together as it should be."_ Danse looked back at the ceiling again, his vision blurred some as the headache started again. His head was throbbing as he closed his eyes and put his hand over them.

 _"You get the headaches don't you?"_ Danse jolted at the thought that he knew about that, only Cade and Haylen knew, so he thought. He didn't want to answer but his lips were filled with generosity suddenly letting it be known. _"Yes."_ His head had already started throbbing even before the conversation had started and Pete could see how tired he was. _"We have a Doctor here, she defected from The Institute, and she taught me a lot about different things. Her name is Doctor Ann Bak, she is a reproductive specialist and also an OBGYN, whatever that means, something to do with babies and birthin' and stuff. But, she told me that relaxation is the key to having a happy life, no matter what. I can tell you haven't had much sleep Danse and you need you sleep. I need to have you strong for the actions of tomorrow and I have to rely on you, please rest here. I can tell you some good stories if you want to listen."_ Pete looked over at him as he closed his eyes slowly and opened them again. _"Okay."_ Pete got up and set the record player up, putting several records on it, setting the repeat function and dropped the needle on the first track. He walked back over to the bed, he put his hands on Danse's lower legs and squeezed the muscles underneath. Danse huffed and looked up at him in surprise. _"What are you doing?"_ Pete grabbed both his legs and rolled him over onto his stomach. Danse started to fight when he felt the warmth and calm of Pete's hands on his lower back. _"It hurts doesn't it?"_ Danse slowly slumped back into the bed, the fight was over as the song slowly started to fill the air. _"Yeah it does. I wish I could just sleep and I never can unless she's there with me. I need her Pete, I need..."_ Danse's words faded away as Pete ran his fingers along his spine, across his flanks and pushed down hard into the flesh on both sides of his lower back. Pete hushed Danse softly as he continued, words didn't need to be said for what they were engaging in and Pete knew how to heal his friend, old wounds that never heal completely.

 

_See the stone_

_Set in your eyes_

_See the thorn_

_Twist in your side_

_I wait for you_

 

Danse gasped gently under Pete's weight as he pushed down with a great deal of force, feeling the popping of the knots in his back and the slow release as Danse clenched the bedding with his fists in an attempt to not cry out from the pain that hid under it all. Sleight of hand And twist of fate On a bed of nails She makes me wait And I wait without you Pete's hands were firm, but soft against his skin. Danse started to feel himself slip into a bit of a relaxed state of mind, the music mixed with the thought that his friend was now coming back into his life after he thought he had died out here. His breathing was starting to become deep and the grunts he let escape from his lungs as Pete found new little hurt places, and massaged them flat again, made Pete feel aroused even though he was really a ladies' man. I can't live with or without you I can't live with or without you He could feel him holding back on him, hold his breath from time to time as his fingers stoked the tender flesh on his back. _"Danse."_ He whispered out in the stillness of the moment as he held his breath again. _"There's no shame in this, you can let it go Danse. Just let it go."_ His hands gently fluttering over his skin and pressing over places that needed it.

 

_Through the storm_

_We reach the shore_

_You give it all_

_But I want more_

_And I'm waiting for you_

 

Danse slowly let the air out of his lungs as Pete massaged his upper back softly, caressing him as Terra had done one night while he slept on her lap, and he thought of her. He could see the night sky, the Milky Way stretching across and a shooting star flash across the sky, it's brilliance lasting only a few seconds but it was worth every little glimmer it left behind.

 

_I can't live with or without you_

_I can't live with or without you I can't live..._

_I can't live with or without you_

 

Pete was working his way around his shoulders now, slow and methodical as he traveled. The touch alone would be a release but he wanted him to sleep. It would take a lot more than this to get him to where he could and he knew he had to try. Danse slowly closed his eyes and licked his lips as Pete was now making small circles in the back of his head and neck.

 

_And you give yourself away_

_And you give yourself away_

_And you give..._

_And you give..._

_And you give yourself away_

 

Without warning Danse was now relaxing, deep relaxation was slowly seeping into his muscles and Pete slowly worked them to ease the pace and make it happen faster. He smiled as Danse sighed in relief and his entire body shook gently and produced goosebumps over the surface. His eyes were not clenched anymore but close gently, as to start sleeping and rest for those tired eyes. My hands are tied My body bruised She's got me with Nothing to win and Nothing left to lose He heard the music playing, nothing else, not the footsteps that now stood silent at the door waiting for Pete. Danse was now floating in his mind, his hands wrapped around Terra's waist as they lay in a warm swimming pool starting to slowly make out in the afternoon sun. He began to smile and hum to himself as his dream continued.

 

_And you give yourself away_

_And you give yourself away_

_And you give..._

_And you give..._

_And you give yourself away_

 

Pete was surprised that Danse got away from reality that fast, maybe it was the fact that he was his friend and that he trusted him without doubt over shadowing the situation. That's when the soft knock came at the door and they were both pulled away from the soft music and back to the truth of the matter, there was someone there and he wasn't ready to let Danse out from under his hands.

 

_I can't live with or without you_

_I can't live with or without you_

_I can't live..._

_I can't live with or without you_

 

He stood up as the song stopped, he took a blanket from a chair and covered him up. Pete was almost angry when he opened the door and it was Doctor Bak. She gently dropped a small metal cylindrical item on the floor and it rolled without incident under the bed, unnoticed and silent across the rug. Pete was surprised to see her there, she wanted to see who was in the bed but he blocked her gaze. _"Doctor, what can I do for you? You know when the music is playing that I don't want to be bothered so this better be good."_ She looked into his eyes and smiled. _"Oh it is. I have the new formula ready for your work tomorrow with them, I understand the Paladin is under your care for the night?"_ Pete crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door jam. _"Yes he is, what's it to you?"_ He was a bit short and to the point but she had his attention. _"Well, I just wanted to let you know, everyone's ready, they know he's here and when you give the word, well- we're with you Pete, no matter what."_ She hugged him and walked away back down the hallway.

He smiled as he slowly pulled back inside the room, what he didn't know was that she had an air grenade of the formula set for a time release under the bed. A release of a special chemical found in the female body that once in the male body, made for a very good sexual encounter no matter who the partner was. It was a strong hallucinogenic that was produced when people were engaged in having sex and released during orgasm, now it was in a small can under the bed waiting to come out and play. It could be absorbed through the skin and inhaled, making it impossible to not get contaminated once it was released into the small space.

Pete returned to Danse, he was asleep as he started to run his hands over him again. Danse nuzzled the pillow and hummed as Pete finished working the muscles on the side of his neck. He tucked Danse in and retrieved a blanket for himself, the record player was now playing a very low classical music to sleep by as he pulled the blanket over himself and soon went to sleep as well. Under the bed the timer slowly ticked down, it would release very soon, the air would change and so would so other things.

Only a few hours had passed when the can opened up, the gentle hiss so low in the audile hearing range of people that it went unnoticed. The two of them sleeping on the bed above, no clue that this blue hue of colored smoke was now gently rising around them, filling the air and floating over them as if it were some guardian angel. The ventilation system had been shut down for the night and the smoke was filling the room, the expansion rate was high and now they were completely immersed in it. Danse was dreaming about Terra, they were laying in a grassy field looking up at the clear blue sky, the soft breeze across his face as they watched birds flying high above together. Pete dreaming about his wife Stephanie, as they lay in their bed together in the Citadel touching each other and starting to kiss one another passionately. They were now both feeling the effects of the chemical in the room as the record player suddenly started playing again, Danse tossed the blanket off onto the floor as Pete wrapped his arms around Danse's chest, his blanket on the floor also. The needle dropped on the surface of the record and the music hauntingly filled the smoky air as the two dreamed about their lovers and made lover to each other. The guitar rift filled the sensations they were looking for as Pete's lips found Danse's and they kissed passionately, their tongues licking and wrapping around each other as Pete cupped the back of Danse's head and Danse cradled him in his arms.

 

_The world was on fire and no one could save me but you._

_It's strange what desire will make foolish people do._

_I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you._

_And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you._

 

Pete started necking on him, Danse's grunting in return made him only do it harder as his mouth gaped open and he squeezed him gently as he rutted into him. Danse was slick, so wet in his boxer briefs that it was almost uncomfortable for him to leave them one much longer as Pete slowly made his way down his body. He started sucking and licking is nipples, Danse let out a small cry as his soft lips grazed them over and over, back and forth.

 

_No, I don't want to fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_No, I don't want to fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_With you, with you (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

 

Danse trembled as Pete held him and started nibbling on his nipples, pulling them a little each time, and he let out a soft moan. It was carried away and the Doctor smiled behind many far walls at the sound of pleasure. _"Oh, Terra."_ He whispered out as Pete ran his hands down the sides of Danse's body, hooking the top of his underwear with his fingers and running them around to the front. Danse tossed his head back and arched his body into him as he kissed his stomach, making him melt into the bed. He had stopped clenching so much and started to wrap his arms around him slowly as the heat in the pit of his stomach stared to grow more quickly.

 

_What a wicked game you play to make me feel this way._

_What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you._

_What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way._

_What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you_

 

Pete stopped, looked up at his face and gasped. _"Oh shit!"_ He broke free of Danse's arms and fell on the floor, smacking his head on the wall, wildly slapping his face. Danse was suddenly coughing from all the smoke in the room and became suddenly aware that it wasn't Terra he was making out with, but Pete, and he was soon very dismayed and upset. _"God damn it, why didn't you stop me?!"_ He shouted as Pete slowly stood up and sat on the bed. _"I thought you were my wife!"_ He slugged his thigh in frustration of the whole embarrassing scene. _"You have every right to punch me in the face right now."_ Danse put his hand over his eyes and wiped his mouth.

 

_And I wanna fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_No, I wanna fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_With you._

 

 _"What's with all the smoke in here?"_ Danse sat up dazed and confused. Pete shook his head and blinked his eyes rapidly as the smoke burned them. _"Damn Doctor drugged us!"_ Danse looked over at him and shook his head as he wiped the sweat from his brow. _"Besides the fact I'm not going to punch you, I'm as at fault here as you are. I thought--you were Terra. I'm sorry. Just don't do that again or I will punch your light out."_ He patted Pete on the shoulder and laid back down. _"Oh I wish she was here."_ He sighed loudly as Pete laid back down beside him. _"Yeah, you and me both brother, you and me both."_ The music continued as they closed their eyes again and dreamed of their lovers, making sure to not touch each other, as the effects of the chemicals ran their course through their bodies. Giving way to lucid dreams, the kind that can make anyone got crazy.

 

_The world was on fire and no one could save me but you._

_It's strange what desire will make foolish people do._

_I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you._

_And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you,_

 

He could see her--Terra. She was laying in a meadow, the green grass flowing all around her as the sun set in the distance and he fell into her, kissing her soft lips and holding her tight. She was smiling at him as he pulled back and ran his finger tips down the side of her face. Pete dreamed of his wife, her soft brown hair glittering in the sun as she ran in front of him in the ocean waves. They crashed into the surf as he had his arms around her and they laughed as the waves splashed all around them. Both men smiled and hummed to their dreams as they drifted around in them.

 

_No, I wanna fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_No, I wanna fall in love (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_With you (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_With you (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_No, I... (this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_(this girl is only gonna break your heart)_

_Nobody loves no one._

 

The song ended, the needle returned to the arm and the smoke that remained floated gently in the far corner of the room. The two of them laid on the bed, sweet love making fantasy drifting in their minds, a space between dream and reality holding them captive. _"Wait until I teach Terra what I know about love making. Just do exactly as I say after we get her here and everything will fall into plan, just as I promised earlier."_ Pete whispered into the silent darkness, half awake and half asleep. _"I'll do it Pete, whatever you say just be easy on Terra, she's had a tough time."_ Pete stroked his own hair as he watched Danse's expression. _"Tell me about her Danse."_

Danse smiled and opened his eyes again. _"She's thin and lean, so muscular for a woman but she's so soft and warm. She has raven black hair and gray blue eyes, pale skin and a beautiful voice, but it's her honorable nobility that sets her apart--"_ Pete put a finger over his lips and he stopped. _"That is enough, I'll figure out the rest I'm sure. Now sleep."_ They laid with their backs towards each other and slowly fell back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos if you liked it! Thanks for reading!


	18. Cloak and Dagger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike Anderson and Elder Maxson have a spy aboard the Prydwen but will they act in time to stop him from destroying them all and the mighty airship? Or will it be too late once his plan is uncovered?

Elder Maxson, a.k.a. Jackson, was now pacing back and forth watching the early morning sky wake above the commonwealth far away to the east of their position. He sipped the hot coffee and let the steam from the cup flow up around his face. He hadn't had the luxury of being alone on the observation deck yet and it was proving to be a very relaxing place to ease the mind off the current events. Anderson, a.k.a. Arthur Maxson, strolled onto the deck and greeted him, holding his own cup of hot coffee and smiling at the dawn colors outside the clear glass. _"I see you have discovered the joys of the observation deck, it can prove to be a place of escape if you let it be."_ He smiled at the Elder as he sipped it and leaned against the rail. _"Thank you for noticing Paladin."_

The Elder sipped his coffee and leaned on the rail next to him. They both watched out the windows as the sky changed, the day was coming and the uncertainty that came with it. _"So another day, another problem?"_ The Paladin asked with one brow raised and a have crooked smile. _"That all depends on what you call a problem."_ The air in the room wasn't tense, not even the thought of someone using a stealth boy not far from them, watching intently and listening in to their conversation, had even cross their minds. The blur of a figure crouched outside the opening to the deck, the Knight on watch shifted back and forth not noticing him there. He waited for the opportunity to plug the Elder, he was sent there by Doctor Langdon, and he had a mission to finish.

 _"So after this is all over how about a drink on me Elder."_ Anderson raised his coffee cup and the Elder tapped the ceramic mugs together with his own. _"Sounds like you're buyin'."_ They both laughed softly at each other as the sun gently touched their faces with its warmth, moments like these were few and far between for the two of them and it was something they cherished, being friends. The cloaked man slowly vanished up the ladder on the main deck and gained access to Elder Maxson's quarters, but someone did take notice, a young female squire saw his door open and close without anyone there. She ran to the nearest Knight in power armor and they went to his quarters looking for this , ** _'_ _ **invisible man'**._** The swung the door open and there was nothing there, he had already gone but they recovered an unexploded bomb strapped to the bottom of his bed and tossed it off the flight deck. Anderson and Maxson investigated the incident, the girl was the only one that saw the man and they made sure she wasn't a suspect. They questioned her for an hour or so and realized she was probably their best chance at getting this guy. _"Squire, are you sure you can do this task? We don't want to put you in any unnecessary danger here dear."_ Anderson explained. _"Yes sir, I know I can, just like I know my dad's still alive out here and you're going to find him."_ Anderson smiled at that and gave her the instructions. _"Now you report only to me understand?"_ He asked as he handed her a pistol and a tablet of paper. _"Yes, sir! I won't let you down sir!"_ She scrambled off out the door and away on her assignment. _"Are you sure that was such a good idea?"_ Maxson asked as she took off. _"Yes it is, she's a kid and not many criminals take kids seriously."_

This bomb business was alarming to everyone on the Prydwen, especially Kells, this was his ship after all and he wasn't going to stand for some spy to destroy her out from under him. The man was creeping around and they had no idea who he was or what he wanted, other than the fact he wanted everyone there dead, but that was obvious. No he wanted to make everyone have terror and fear to watch them all turn on themselves but what he didn't know is that the girl had seen him for just a second as he switched stealth boys and that was enough evidence for her. The young girl had followed the stranger around for a few hours, writing down everything he took and everywhere he went, that girl was Carly Astre.

First he entered Proctor Quinlan's quarters and stole some papers, probably technical documents but she wasn't sure. Then he went into the medical bay and stole supplies like med-x and stimpaks, along with empty syringes and research tubes. After that she followed him into the galley, where she took the focus off of herself asking for some flour for an experiment, as he grabbed a bunch of food from the lower shelves. The man slowly made his way up to where Senior Scribe Neriah was working and Carly watched as he started grabbing different chemicals from the locker nearby her work terminal. That's when she came to the assumption that he was building a huge bomb, much bigger than the one they had found and disposed of, but one that would take out the whole airship. She became very scared as she thought he was watching her now, deliberately taking things in front of her, because he knew she was watching and this made her so paranoid that she ran back to Paladin Anderson nearly in tears from whole situation.

It was becoming evening now as she dashed down the hallway and stopped quickly just outside of Anderson's quarters, out of breath as she knocked at it in hopes he would answer right away so no one would see her there. She didn't see the blur of the man anywhere around so she knocked three times, Paladin Anderson opened the door slowly and peered down at her and motioned her inside. He closed the door swiftly right behind her as she started pacing the room nervously, and he stood with his ear to the steel listening for footsteps and feeling for the vibration of anyone there. _There was nothing_ , she hadn't been followed.

Anderson put his hands on her shoulders to calm her and she looked right into his eyes as he knelled down to her level. _"Carly, what happened you look like you were chased here?"_ He was so concerned that it made her well up but she didn't cry. That was a lot to say right there for a ten year old girl. _"I wrote down everything he started taking, but I know he's making a big bomb. All that stuff he has, I don't know where he took it but I think he saw me watching him."_ She wiped her eyes and handed him the paper with everything she had seen and what exactly he had. _"Carly, It's going to be fine, you have done so well."_ He took the paper as she sat on his bed and looked over what was there. The girl was right, he was making a massive bomb, big enough to take down the Prydwen and worse, _he wasn't looking to survive_.

Carly slowly laid on her side on Anderson's bed and started to gently sob. Anderson looked over his shoulder at her and folded the paper, sliding it into his pocket on his uniform for safe keeping. She closed her eyes and tried not to cry but she couldn't help it, the spy had truly frightened her. Anderson sat on the bed and she hugged him, crying into his chest as she curled up on his lap. _"Why does he hate everyone, we didn't do anything to him!"_ Anderson held her as she sobbed, he didn't want to say anything to upset her so he just held her. _"Shhhh, now it's going to be okay Carly. Paladin Danse and Captain Hulsey are out there right now on a recon mission looking for your father, I just know they will be successful in finding him."_ He rocked her gently as she slowly stopped crying and looked up into his bright blue eyes with her hazel green eye, he swore he could see Pete in her.

 _"Thank you Paladin Anderson."_ She wiped her tears as he held her still, then she knew something she couldn't have known until she looked at him again closely. _"What is it Carly?"_ She narrowed her gaze at him and smiled widely as she confirmed it in her head. _"You're Arthur Maxson."_ She whispered so very quietly and he jerked as that statement entered her ear. _"Oh, what makes you say that?"_ He whispered back to her. "I shook your hand the day you let us Squires on the Prydwen before we left for the Commonwealth, I just know it's you. Nobody else has those blue eyes like yours." They both smiled as she laid her head against his chest and giggled a little bit. He shook his head and laughed a little at the situation, her _'little discovery'_. _"This is our secret now, I mean it, nobody else can know, not even your mother, deal?"_ She put her hand in his and they shook on it. _"Deal."_ She slowly got off of him and sat on the bed next to him. _"You better go to bed now, it's a big day tomorrow okay?"_ She nodded and yawned as she stood up and started for the door. _"Okay, goodnight Paladin."_ She unlatched the door and then closed it again, backing away. _"What is it Carly?"_ He stood up and got into a defensive posture pulling her back from the doorway. _"He's--out there."_ She said as if she had the breath knocked out of her, her words were barely audible even to him. _"It's going to be fine, just go out there with confidence, get in your bunk and act like nothing happened."_ He patted her on the shoulder but she grabbed his hand.

 _"I have flour, to sprinkle around to find the invisible man. He can't hide from it if it's all over him now can he?"_ She smiled back at Anderson, and he smiled back down at her. _"That's a girl, now go on."_ She opened the door and dashed off into the belly of the air ship. He slowly closed the door watching behind her to make sure that man wasn't around, he saw nothing and the door closed with a gently metal clang. He slowly laid on his bed, looking into the ceiling and trying to see past it. A spy on the airship, the girl chasing him and his involvement in being a man he wasn't that the girl saw right through. He hoped that no one else saw through it as she did, but she was a special girl, she saw everything.

Carly ran up the stairs and jumped in her bunk, hers was between two Knights who were already asleep and they stirred some when she came thudding in. She sprinkled the flour around her bed, took off her jacket and boots and laid down for the night. She pulled the blankets over her head to help keep her nerves down as she heard the power armor boots of a guard stroll by on patrol, they had tripled patrols that night after the day had revealed such a travesty. She finally fell asleep, it must have been two or three in the morning but she was fast asleep as the invisible man crept down the corridor and lifted himself up onto the hydrogen tank above her. She was snapped awake the sound of something gently tapping against the steel tank,-- ** _TAP-TAP-TAP_**. Her eyes were wide open as she lowered the blanket and she saw the man, sitting up there above her patting down plastic explosive over the top of the tank. She moved ever so slowly as he acted like she wasn't even there, still working and the power armor Knights were nowhere to be found.

She gritted her teeth as she dropped one foot down and slid out of the blanket and under her bed in one motion. The tapping continued overhead as the sounds of beeping started, a timer was being set and she bolted out from under her bed and down the hallway. She was screaming like a siren, the man was right behind her, and she ran down the stairs and into the mess hall. The others that were still sleeping were all on their feet rushing down to help the girl as the man now held her at gun point. "Help! Help!" She screamed as Paladin Anderson opened his door and saw the man holding her from behind, the gun against her head and the hammer was back, he wasn't fooling around.

 _"Everyone stop where you are and I don't blow this little girl's head off!"_ He shouted, his heavy Russian accent ripping the air around him as he stood in the hallway just between the mess hall and the medical bay. Paladin Brandis slowly emerged behind him with a combat knife in hand. He hadn't been cleared for active duty yet but that wasn't going to stop him from killing the madman that had been running amuck around the ship. _"He made a bomb--"_ He tightened his grip on the girl and pushed the steel barrel of the gun hard against her. _"Shut up!"_ She struggled against him and bit his hand hard _. "The hydrogen tanks!"_ She shouted as Anderson stepped out of his quarters towards him, he shouted at him before he got a chance to hit the girl. _"Leave her alone you so of a bitch!"_ The man turned his attention to Anderson, the gun pointed squarely at him now as the girl struggled to get free of him. Brandis was just about on him now as Anderson started talking again. _"Go ahead and shoot me. Do it you coward!"_ He shouted as only a few steps away as Brandis slammed the knife deep into the side of the man's neck, he let go of the girl and the gun went off, just grazing Anderson in the left leg. The man slowly started gasping, the girl ran to Anderson and helped him to the ground as Cade also ran to his side. Brandis pulled the knife from the man's neck, kicked the gun away from his hand and plunged it in again as the blood sprayed him in the face and upper body. _"Die you piece of shit, how dare you come here and hurt a child!"_ He screamed as the man fell lifeless to the floor, gurgling in his own blood.

Everyone watched Paladin Brandis as he took back his blade, wiped it off on the dead man's clothing and placed it back in its spot on his uniform, a small pocket on the sleeve that he made himself. Brandis kicked the corpse and spit on it as he turned away from him and walked over to Anderson, who was now getting fixed by Cade and Carly hugged him as he knelled next to her. _"Paladin Brandis you were in the right place at the right time, I'm so thankful!"_ She was so enthusiastic that she nearly knocked him over as the rest of the Brotherhood soldiers began to clap and talk among themselves. Carly and Brandis stood up as Kells and Elder Maxson came over to them. _"What was this about a bomb on top of the hydrogen tanks young Squire?"_ Kells asked her as she turned to him, Cade was bandaging up Anderson as he struggled with the pain in his leg. _"That man, he was patting down this clay stuff on the top of the tank and then he put a timer clock on it, it must be some sort of bomb up there."_ The expression on Kells face changed from uncertainty to panic very quickly. _"Show me."_ His voice was angry at the dead man, but calming to the girl as he was taking her as seriously as Anderson had. She took his hand and looked down at Anderson with concern. _"Don't worry about me Carly, I'll be fine here with Cade, go on and get the task done, you can do it."_ She smiled at him as she took Captain Kells and a small group of them including Maxson, and now Ingram, on their way to find this bomb.

They quickly found themselves standing directly underneath the main tank, Ingram was looking up at the underside of it with a squint, her expression was grim at best as she took her gaze down to Maxson. Little bits of gray material were littered over the girl's bed, as she picked some of it up and handed it to Ingram this only cemented the situation over her face. _"It's pre-war military grade plastic explosive. This is bad shit, he probably slathered it all over the other two tanks as well."_ She rolled the soft dough like material between her fingers and then turned to the Squire. _"Carly, I'm going to boost you up this I-beam to take a look at the top of the tank okay? Try not to disturb it if you can and tell me exactly what you see."_ The girl nodded as Maxson hoisted her up onto Ingram's shoulders and she climbed the beam up to where she could look down at the tank. She gasped as she took in the full extent of what he had done there, the entire length of it was covered with explosive material and in the center was a digital timer with wires going into several blasting caps. _"Carly, what do you see?"_ Ingram shouted as the girl held onto the beam above. _"That stuff is over the length of the tank, there's a timer on a circuit board in the center here and wires going to small metal tubes everywhere."_ Everyone's faces sank, this was going to be tough to defuse and Ingram started to sweat bullets when the girl said the next nightmarish thing. _"This timer is counting down, it says it has ninety seven seconds, now ninety five--Ingram! I can stop it, I just need to get down there to it, and pull it apart."_ Carly slowly started down the beam to the tank when Ingram shouted at her. _"No! Carly wait! We need to get the Elder off the airship first! Stay right there Carly I'm going to get a tool kit and bring it to you okay?"_ Carly stopped and looked down at them as Ingram went for the kit, Maxson waved to her as he started for the flight deck, several Knights went with him as he left and Kells stood below her for support.

 _"Remember what they taught you in ordinance school young lady? You were at the top of your class for this so I expect only the best."_ Kells said to her as she scanned the bomb. _"Yes sir, I do, but shouldn't you be going as well?"_ He looked at her with confusion and then smiled. _"No young Squire, as the Captain of this ship it's my duty to go down with her unless everyone else is already off. You're not going to do this alone, I would never leave you here alone, and that's a promise."_ She laid over the beam and waited for Ingram to return, they could hear a vertibird launch from the airship and the beating of the blades as it flew away to safety. Ingram tossed her a rope that had a work bag full of tools attached to it and she hoisted it up to herself and slowly eased her feet onto the top of the top. Her toes sank into the plastic as she sat down next to the timer as it now read forty five seconds. She pulled out cutters, a flash light and a grounding strap. She strapped herself to the tank with a magnet, held the flashlight on the circuit board and got the cutters ready in her little hand. She tilted the board away from her and she looked underneath it , a piece of wax paper protected it from the plastic and she laid it back down. It was as simple as the ones they had at school, cut the right wire and it was okay, cut the wrong one and it was game over in a big way, that was a lot to handle for a ten year kid. She floated the cutter between the orange and the purple wires, the gray, brown, green, red and black were not connected to the controller on this setup. She picked the purple, it was connected to the first blasting cap in the cascade and now the moment of truth as she squeezed the handles together and clipped the wire.

She clamped her eyes shut as she felt the wire snap in her hands, there came a faint buzzing sound as the timer died and the bomb was now inert. She opened her eyes, one at time and then whooped on top of the tank. _"It's dead, cut the purple wire!"_ She tossed down the tool bag slowly by the rope and jumped off the tank into Ingram's arms. _"Good job girl!"_ Kells patted her on the back and Ingram hugged her and they walked under the other two tanks to see if he had been there. She climbed up to see and sure enough he had been but the timer wasn't there, it was hooked to the other bomb and so they went to the last tank. She climbed up the beam and looked at it as well but they was no explosive on this tank, just a teddy bear, she tilted her head as she looked at it, not touching it as she sat on the tank. Ingram noticed that she had stopped moving and called up to her. _"Carly, is everything okay?"_ She hesitated for a moment before answering. _"Yeah, I found a teddy bear up here, but I don't know if it's a bomb or not, it's sitting right on top of the tank."_ She scooted forward very close to the bear and stood up to look over it at the back of it when she noticed the most peculiar thing about it, it seemed as if it were floating at about an inch above the tank on the backside. _"What the hell?"_ She said as she looked back at the front of it. She pulled her pistol out and aimed at it, sideways so it wouldn't hit the tank and took the shot.

**_\--POP!--_ **

The teddy bear flew off the tank and bounced off down into the bottom belly pan of the Prydwen somewhere, taking with it the timer that was attached to the small bomb it was sitting on, and now they were safe. Both Ingram and Kells watched it bounce away in shock and their attention was turned to the girl above as she stood up and looked down upon them. _"There was a bomb under it so I shot it off the bomb and the timer inside the bear severed the connection so fast it couldn't have sent the signal to go off."_ She smiled as she spoke and soon jumped down into Ingram's arms once more with a cheerful squeal. Kells shook her hand after both feet where on the deck, and she saluted him. _"For the Brotherhood Captain."_ Kells smiled and he took her back to see Anderson, leaving Ingram to cleanup and send for everyone to help, and also to get the vertibird back with Maxson aboard to continue the operations over the ocean undetected. All the explosives were disarmed and now the cleanup of the material had to begin. Ingram huffed as she looked up at the tank over the beds, _"What a pain in ass, god-darn mess, stupid asshole had a death wish and I hope that when he meets the maker he gets what's coming to him." Several_ Knights reported to her as Kells ushered the girl back to the medical bay where Cade had almost finished sewing up Anderson, and Kells left her in their care as he returned to the radio to call back the vertibird.

Cade and Anderson smiled as she sat down in the chair there, Cade wiping down the wound on his leg and Anderson pulled his pant leg back down. _"I understand you saved the day young lady."_ Cade said smiling at her as he washed his hands in the sink. _"Yes sir, but I couldn't have done it without Paladin Anderson's help, he made this possible."_ Anderson looked back at her and slowly stood up in pain from the injury. _"No Carly, I believed in you and you made this possible. If you hadn't been so much like your dad you would have never even seen the man and that bomb would have killed us all. You are a true hero to all of us and we are all very proud of you."_ They all started to laugh gently as he sat down next to her and she smiled up at him. _"I'm just glad I was able to help stop him."_ She looked down at her feet and noticed the gray material was still all over them and she smiled at them, she would always remember what she had done that day and what her feet looked like afterwards.

Kells made it back to the radios on the lower command deck, he was going to call back the vertibird carrying Elder Maxson and his security detail when he heard a faint transmission coming through. It wasn't dawn just yet, the sky was just starting to open the dark shadows to the new day, the green blue colors starting to fill the edges of the far horizon. The transmission was starting to come in clear the buzzing and fizz of the previous interference had gone away.

_"Prydwen how do you copy over?"_

It was none other than Paladin Danse on the emergency channel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this brought some new life into the story for everyone reading, and thanks again for taking the time to read it. Please stick around for the rest of it as we continue the journey and leave kudos if you liked it. Thanks everyone!!


	19. A Show of Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Pete Astre's plan work for this whole situation with the gunners or will they all fall prey to the sinister Captain Wes?

                               Wes stopped laughing as Pete ran his hand across the top of Terra's breasts, over her side and onto Danse's side and across his chest until he locked eyes with him. Terra was waking up, she started to fight the restraints as Pete walked back around and faced her again. She stopped moving as he locked eyes with her and she read the look behind them.

                          _"Hello Terra, my name is Pete Astre, and that behind you is Paladin Danse."_

                               He ran his finger tips down the centerline of her body from the base of her throat to the bottom of her stomach before he took them away from her soft skin. The guard just outside the door to the room they were was no Gunner, he was one of the Brotherhood captives waiting for Pete's orders to revolt. The rest of the 'easy' Gunners had already been dispatched, either killed or locked up for safe keeping.

                              Wes grew uneasy as Pete walked around her and smelled her hair. He then put his lips against Danse's ear and was whispering something when he burst in through the doors. Pete looked directly at him as he walked up to Terra and was stopped in his tracks by the very sight of her. She burns laser holes in him with her angry glare as he started to let he down.

                            _"What are you doing with my prisoner Wes?"_ Wes smiled as he grabbed her leather restraints and pulled her close to him.

 _"I want to hold on to her for a moment and if you do as I have instructed then you can have her back. We'll watch from the other side if you don't mind."_ Terra jerked as he started to pull her away and he snapped her into his body hard.

                              _"If you fight me I'll order him to rape you until you bleed."_ He stopped and turned back to Pete. _"Camelot you did good bringing in a breeding pair, they have good genetics and they will make perfect assets to the Gunner cause."_ She stopped fighting him and he took her into the looking room.

                              Danse and Pete were now standing alone in the room, Danse hanging from the pipe above by the leather on his forearms, his shoulders screaming out in pain at him as he ignored their cries and Pete ran his hand over Danse's chest. Pete took the gag from his mouth, knocked on the door and the guard answered.

                             _"Take this to the Doctor."_ He handed him the gag and he closed the door, the guard charging down the hall with it to the Doctor's office. Pete grabbed Danse's ass, he jerked taking in a deep breath and Pete released him and now stood in front of him.

                              "Ah, the raw power of the Brotherhood is right before me. A Paladin of all things has come into my mist and all I can do is play with him and his little Knight-Captain for a while." He put his face only inches from Danse's.

                              "But I like that very much." He kissed him, sucking his lower lip into his mouth and Wes held Terra still to watch the events unfold. Danse pulled away violently, a silver line of saliva snapped off between the two as Pete smiled at him.

                             _"You can at least pretend to like it Danse."_ Danse clamped his eyes shut and pushed his face into his arm.

                               Wes pulled a .44 magnum out of its holster and held Terra at gunpoint with it.

                               _"I want you to watch him make that Paladin sing for you and if he does, you get to keep your life and if he doesn't, you will belong to Camelot. Now turn that pretty face of yours and watch him do such fine work."_ Terra didn't want to watch it but she had no other options, Pete was going to give Danse head, whether he wanted it or not. Pete picked up a loaded syringe, the liquid in this one was a green neon color and he held it in his hand, examining it.

    _"Danse when I inject you with this," His gaze now into Danse's eyes. "You will become erect almost immediately, and a hunger you have never felt the likes of will fill your blood for lust and you will drip with it until your desires are fulfilled. It lasts up to an hour but I can inject you four times in two hours if I have to, so don't fight with me, just go along for the ride."_

                               He slowly eased it into his neck and released the venom into his body. He took it away and stood watching the effects take place right before his eyes as he grew erect and was huffing, trying to control the sensation, the same one he had the night before in his quarters. He was fighting against himself, he looked up at Pete and whispered something but Terra read his lips.

                       _"You bastard. Don't do this to me!"_ Pete smiled as he pushed the cart into the corner and unzipped the top of his uniform.

                             _"Oh Danse don't fight, once I start all you will feel is pleasure and once I get you where I want you everything will happen just as I planned it to."_ His words were unsettling as he got on his knees in front of him, lowered Danse down with a power control switch and now he could take him without incident and without force. Danse struggled and started jerking around hard, _"No! Don't you fucking touch me!"_ Wes started to get upset, this is isn't what he wanted, not at all. Pete was letting his anger get the best of him, his hands started shaking and he gritted his teeth together hard. Wes had Terra and Pete had it up to his eyeballs with his shit, he wasn't about to let him do as he pleased, and he couldn't do this to Danse either, not like this--he would not humiliate his friend.

                             ** _\--TAP!-TAP!-TAP!--_ **

                              Wes started tapping on the glass as he held Terra, he flipped on the intercom and it crackled to life in the room. Pete glared at it as stood but in truth he was relieved.

                              _" **STOP!** I changed my mind. Take him to the breeding room, I'll be bringing her and no funny stuff."_ Danse felt relief as he was stood up and Pete released him from the hanger on the pipe. They nodded at each other as the guard opened the door and they followed Wes down the hall as he poked Terra in the back with his .44.

                              They walked slowly down the hall to an elevator, where they all got inside, the ride was short but they were pushed down the hall by Wes, into the breeding room. Two guards were at the door and after it closed they placed two steel bars across the door so no one could get out.

                          _"Tie him up over there,"_ Wes snarled as he tossed Terra down onto one of the soft beds that filled the room. The fluff of it made her feel like she were floating in water as the blankets wrapped around her gently and she watched Pete tie Danse to a pipe in the corner facing her.

     _"I want him to watch you enjoy his little Captain here so he will understand why he's been brought here with her."_ He smirked as Pete turned back to her and slowly laid down on the bed next to her, Wes sat on the floor and put the .44 back in the holster.

                              _"You can fight all you want Captain, but this is a sound proof room as well, for privacy if you would."_ He snickered at himself as he leaned back against the padded wall.

                               Terra locked up, she was staring him down as he slowly laid next to her, his hot breath brushing her skin and she watched him with such intensity that Danse thought she was going to strike him. Pete brought his hand out of the blankets and slowly reached over to her and laid his hand on her thigh, she didn't even twitch.

                               _"Terra,"_ Danse called out as he slid down the pipe to his knees. _"Terra, please be nice and just let him. Please, do it for me, I promise he won't hurt you, okay? Please."_ He was pleading with her as the effects of the chemicals ran through his blood and was having a difficult time controlling himself as he sat on his feet and his head was down as he looked at the floor. Terra looked over at Danse who was now hanging by the pipe in an attempt to control the desires that were raging through his head like a raceway. He closed his eyes and stayed as still as he could as Wes looked over at him with a nasty smirk on his face. Pete took his hand away from her leg and smiled at her.

                               _"He's right, I'm not going to hurt you Terra. Do I have your permission?"_ He locked eyes with her as she started making micro decisions in her head. He was so soft in his deep voice, the tone was calm and steady. His warm brown eyes made her feel calm and her breathing began to slow as she came to a decision. She looked right into him, she could see and feel that he wouldn't lie to her, and he wasn't lying now.

                                _"Yes, I give you permission."_ She almost whispered it to him as she softened her gaze upon him. He took his shirt off and tossed it aside and he slowly took off his pants as he watched her, and laid next to her in his underwear. He made sure that only his lips touched her at first, for the full effect. He kissed her very gently, he watched her close her eyes after the first graze, so he did the same as he sucked on her lower lip first and then her upper lip and he slowly released her as he pulled back to look at her expression. She licked her lips, her eyes were still closed and she nodded to him, she knew he was waiting for the 'okay' to come back in for another pass.

                                 She laid in the soft bedding as Pete slowly lowered himself down on top of her from above and kissed her very passionately, he whimpered out as she kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him loosely. Wes was very interested in watching them, his full attention was now on the act they were going to commit as Danse untied the fake knots Pete had tied him up with. He held the rope in place and watched as Wes sat forward and acted like a child mesmerized by them. Pete was slowly sliding his tongue into her mouth as Terra ran her hands over his back making his body shiver. She was so tight as he entered her body that he broke their kiss and a deep rumble came slowly out of his chest as he moaned out.

                               ** _"Ah....."._ **

                                His eyes rolled back and his eye lids fluttered as he felt her tremble under him, wrapping his one arm around her on one side and running his hand to the other side of her face to hold her intimately. She took in a deep breath as he slowly slid into her and held himself there. He nuzzled her neck with his face, feeling her warmth all around him he kissed her gently and hummed. He started to stroke her very gently, placing his cheek against hers, the squeeze she had on him made it difficult not to come right away and he moaned out on every in stroke.

                               He had not moaned out like that with a woman for several years and now he couldn't control himself, not with her. It was something special when a man like that could moan out with a woman as if it were his first time all over again, giving a new allure to love making. She had done something to him, something he hadn't experienced in a very long time, she had intoxicated him with her soft mouth, the kissing that was so deep and lush, and her warm, lean body under his made it all worthwhile for him.

                               Danse watched Wes as he slowly dropped the rope to the floor, he fully intended to shove that .44 down his throat and blow his head right off leaving only a neck hole on the top of his worthless body. Wes was starting to undo is pants in haste, as to stroke himself as he watched.

                               Pete slowly stroked her, and she remained silent until he stroked her deeply five or six times, then she reacted with a body roll and gently cry of pleasure. Pete was pounding himself into Terra, their moaning even louder as they were going faster and harder at each other.

                               Danse waited a second more as now both of Wes's hands were down and he jumped on top of him, pouncing like a predator on its prey and without warning.

                               Neither Pete or Terra noticed as they were entangled with each other, and Pete was so close to a climax he almost couldn't hold himself back any longer.

                               Danse decided in a split second that discharging that gun in there would have been foolish so he wrapped his big hands around his scrawny neck and squeezed the hell out of him, he couldn't speak but he clawed and kicked as Danse shoved him harder into the floor with all his weight on his neck. Danse soon recognized that the drug Pete injected into him not only made him horny as hell but gave him a new found strength, and all the moaning from Pete and Terra made him fill with a rage against his enemy with the likes he had never felt or seen before. He felt it was wrong that Wes watched his friend have a deeply emotional experience with the woman of his dreams and he had to nerve to jerk off to them, Wes's action towards Pete and Terra alone were justification enough for Danse to rip his head from his body in one swift motion if he could. He had a feeling of great satisfaction as he felt the life leave Wes's body as he flailed under his weight in his last moments.

                               Unbeknownst to Danse and Terra, the gag that had been carried off to the Doctor had the orders for the revolt written into it. As soon as they went inside the breeding room the fight broke out and the onslaught raged outside that room like hell on earth. Every man, woman and child fought their captors, the gunfights in the halls and the laser fire outside the plaza all aimed at bringing freedom to all the Brotherhood soldiers and the Gunner defectors in the Commonwealth. The sound deafened to those inside the room, including Wes, who now lay dead on the floor of the room and Danse sat next to the corpse as Pete and Terra enjoyed their moment.

                               The blood splattered the walls down the hallway as a Gunner group attempted to take back the facility and they were met with the rage of the Brotherhood soldiers they had kept as slaves, their bullets ripping at the flesh and one by one they all fell to the might of the revolt mounted by Pete and his soldiers, all secretly plotting this event for years for it to come to this. The smoldering bodies on the ground floor, and on the outside of the building in the courtyard and on the broken pavement out front of what was once a street, the blood dripping down the stairs from the evil, dead corpses of a 'had been' rag tag gang known as the gunners.

                               All the while, as the blood flowed and the body count rose, Pete was finally finding peace on so many levels, in the arms of Terra Hulsey and under the close guard of his friend Danse.

                               Danse wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at the corpse of the once leader of the Gunners next to him. He took a blanket from the bed and covered his face so he didn't have to look at him. Pete was trying to reach Terra as Danse did, but he couldn't do it the way he could, and Terra didn't mind that. She enjoyed him in her own way, she was finally coming out of her shell and she let Pete love her in his own special way, burying her love for Danse deep inside until he took her into his arms again, and that would be sooner than she thought. Pete wanted her to get off, and he knew she would but he would feel regret if he came inside of her, he didn't know anything about her and he didn't want her to carry his child. He was so close now as he felt he starting to come he pulled out as she had her orgasm and the very sound of it, her wrapped around him and squeezing him in her arms made him lose his seed, and he shot it out in between their hot bodies and he moaned out louder than he had ever done before. They laid there in the mess as Danse rounded up towels and handed them to the panting pair to clean themselves up. Pete cleaned up Terra, he let her lay there to recover as he did the work, he made the mess and he felt it was only fair to wipe her off.

                               Danse looked very smitten with the whole thing and after Pete stood up, he laid down on top of her and took her into his arms.

                              _"I killed that asshole by the way, he's by the door."_ Danse said smiling as he stroked the side of her face with the back of his fingers and she turned her face towards them as she licked her lips.

                               _"Oh baby I have a surprise for you, now that my friend Pete got you off I get to have all the fun with you."_ He whispered into her ear and she smiled at his words.

                               _"Thank your friend for me and now you will get to have all the fun with that wonderful way you do this to me, you intoxicate me and make me wild in your grasp Danse."_ He closed his eyes as she whispered her reply into him and he kissed her very possessively.

                               _"I love how you make me feel, just like a horny teenager Terra."_ He said gently trying not to force himself into her very hard as he sat against her moist lips, waiting and wanting her so very much. Pete smiled as he put his ear against the door, listening to the gunfire outside of it and he felt that satisfaction of victory fill very void in his mind.

                               Danse and Terra were getting into each other, feeling the deep emotions they had for their love, that sacred thing that was held so close to the heart and the chemicals that ran through his blood now crossing over to her through his saliva making her feel the effects as he did. They kissed each so passionately and with such deep emotional charge that Pete had to turn away, he thought of his wife and the pain of not being with her struck him.

                               As Pete leaned against the door there was a knocking, it was distinctive to him because only the Doctor ever knocked like that, and he opened the door for her to enter as Danse and Terra were now screaming into each other.

                              The Doctor seemed intrigued by the pair laying in the fluffy bedding getting in on so well before her eyes met Pete's disapproving glare as he closed the door for privacy's sake. The turned their backs to them as Danse pounded her into the fluff and they were both moaning so loud that Pete and the Doctor almost couldn't hear themselves talking over them.

                             _"Oh, I see that new formula--!"_ Pete grabbed the Doctor by her neck and pushed her against the wall with a very angry look over his face.

                          _"You will never do that to me again! I gave him what you told me to give him and sure he's enjoying himself because he's entitled to. What you did to us in the dark last night was completely uncalled for, I'm not your damn toy!"_

                               The doctor didn't push back or fight she just closed her eyes, waiting for him to strike her but he just let her go, burning that look into her.

                            _"I'm sorry that happened like that, I wasn't thinking."_ She was very upset at her own actions and felt she betrayed her friend in a way.

                                _"Yeah, you're damn right you weren't. just keep that in mind if you try to pull a stunt like that again. Did the operation go as planned?"_ He said as Danse and Terra were finally able to get off to each other and the moaning slowly stopped as they lay panting heavily into each other.

                                 _"Yes we have complete control of all Gunner resources and what troopers decided to come with us. It was a success just as you said it would be. Should we tell her about the prisoner?"_

                                 Pete turned his frown slightly back to a smile and nodded, _"Yes actually, I nearly forgot about him."_ Danse and Terra laid silent for a few seconds before Pete threw a towel against Danse's back. _"We need to go."_ He said to them as the Doctor smiled on in their direction.

                                 Danse and Terra started to get cleaned up when the doctor left for a moment and returned with their Brotherhood uniforms, she handed them to Pete and he waited for them to be ready before giving them to Danse. He smiled as he took them and gave Terra hers and she quickly slipped into it.

                            _"So I must keep you both informed of the current situation, this place is now under Brotherhood control, and I also have a gift for you Captain."_

                                _"Oh, what might that be."_ She asked zipping herself closed.

                               _"We captured a man after a team of 'your' people came here, they tried to kill him and so we thought it only in our best interests to scoop him up and bring him here for questioning, sadly we can't get a thing out of him that makes any sense so I thought you might talk to him seeing as he seems to know all about you being here."_ Pete's gaze now captivated her, she wanted to know why this came about and who this man was.

                                 _"Paladin Danse, as you already know we have a full two brigades of Brotherhood soldiers here in this facility, let's get on the horn to the Prydwen and tell them how we can rock this world."_ He put his fist up and Danse bumped it as they both smiled and chuckled at each other.

          _"You better wait on that call gentlemen, I need to talk to this 'man' and then after we assess this situation with the Pentagon and my situation then we can call them with the good news. Let's not allow this to get out of control here."_ They both looked at her and nodded in acknowledgement, it was a very good idea to wait and get this set of questions out of the way and set the plan it place for the coming invasion.

 _"Yeah you have a point there with that, if this shit goes sideways then we may have a huge problem on our hands."_ Pete replied as they exited the room down the blood stained hallway to where they had Agent Madexx.

                                   Terra walked slowly to the side and slightly behind them as they stepped over the bodies that lay strewn over the hallways and against some of the door jams as they continued down to the interrogation rooms. Some of the soldiers were already taking the bodies away to the morgue when they saw them approaching, they snapped to attention and saluted them, they knew the significance of Danse and Terra and they hoped that what Pete had been pounding into their brains was going to bring them all back together again. Danse and Pete stopped at the doorway that led into the room, the Doctor came up from behind them and unlocked the door for Terra.

                                    As the Doctor started to open the door Terra placed her palm flat against it and looked over at Danse.

                                    _"I will speak to him alone first and then you both will be required, if this turns out like I want it to you will both know the truth when it's all said and done, and then we call the Prydwen."_ He looked confused slightly but he nodded, in a way he understood that he really didn't know a whole lot about her or where she came from but they were all about to find that out in a big way.

                                    She slowly walked into the bright white room, a table and two chairs in the center of its cinder-block walls and there he sat, the man of the hour. He had been cuffed to his chair, the chair was also bolted to the floor and he looked like hell. He had been beaten, some, and seemingly poured back into place waiting for his demise. Little did he ever expect to see my ugly mug walk through that threshold and sit across from him. He was a hard man to surprise but this was something he never would have seen coming, not in a million years. She sat down in the steel chair across from him and he slowly looked up at her. The bruises on his face, the dried blood from his nose all evidence of his hospitable stay here with the former Gunners. The look in his eyes said everything and reaffirmed what she held as a firm belief, that he was never going to see her again but there she was.

                             _"What the fuck are you doing here?"_ She asked him in a deep low growl as he started to smile.

                            _"Funny you should ask that Terra, I came here looking for you."_ She sat forward and looked him in the eye.

                                " _Bullshit."_ She didn't believe him, not in the least.

                    _"Say what you want Terra, but I came here to warn you about Janet. She's not who you think she is, not who I thought she was and it made a lot of sense when the shit she was doing behind all our backs came to light, but it all came far too late."_ This got her attention and she snapped up the moment.

                                _"Why tell me this, aren't you and I supposed to be enemies? Wasn't it you that put me here in this position in the first place? I fully expect you to explain yourself right here and now!"_ She punched the tabletop, it left a snapping metal rap sound to bounce around the room and it made the man wince.

                                He stayed silent for a moment, to let he cool some before he laid it down for her, this was no easy feat and he knew her all too well. She was starting to get impatient with him when he took in a deep breath and looked her in the eye, his green hue capturing her thoughts before they could escape and the words about to slice the air made her so very rigid.

                               _"I never meant to send you to this place, this was a mistake but I'm glad that it happened to you. You were supposed to go into a system of VR trails not an actual environment, this place--it's a video game, and I know that Janet gave you a guidebook for it which I'm sure you already made good use of but, she was playing you for a fool, me too for that matter. She was the one that was working with the Russians, she's a double agent, and she is the one that is fully responsible for you being in here. The day that you were sent here there was a major security breach at the Pentagon, this program was loaded into the system and an unknown amount of highly classified data was taken out, you're being here was a distraction and she never meant for you to survive let alone return. When you returned as you did, she knew you couldn't stay so she acted her part to get you back here so she could be rid of you once and for all, because Terra, you are the only one that can actually stop her."_ The words that fell from his mouth as he spoke burned Terra to the very core. She had no idea that Janet had been the one to cause all this shit, she thought she was her friend and Agent Madexx watched the knife turn in her side as she lost the light in her eyes and turned very dark, she knew what she had to do.

                               _"The Russian's huh? Bitch. Why should I believe you, I don't even know you're name."_ She said tapping the tabletop with her fingertips.

                               _"Because I have documents showing everything she is going to do and how she's going to do it. I was sent here by the President himself Terra. When your blood dropped from your body into this environment it made it real. This is no longer a video game but a real world environment because of your interactions and things that have taken place here. The quantum machine helped make this place a reality and now you can never leave, but I figured that you really didn't want to after what transpired between you and so many others here. You belong here Terra and I want to make sure you can make that happen but you have to trust me. I killed John, that was my doing, and I got you out of a court marshal for it. I have been behind you every step of the way and you never had any need to look back and see me until now, my name is Agent Henry Madexx. I have been your handler for the CIA for your entire career and now you need me more than ever."_

                               She looked at him with shock, _"The CIA?"_ Her hands were shaking as she placed them against the tabletop and looked around the room in suspicion.

                               _"Yes Terra. You have been working for us as long as you have been in the Air Force and you didn't even know. That was part of the beauty of the program."_

                               _"Go on."_ He smiled and shrugged. _"I have been with you every step of the way. Now I need you to complete your mission here. Upon my arrival I was to make sure that you stay alive no matter what, this place is now self powered inside what was once the Quantum Machine in the Pentagon. I'm sure by this point in time we have been moved deep underground and into a Faraday cage for safe keeping because of the fact that you made all this possible, well I had high hopes but never like this. Terra you are the reason so many people are still alive and also why Russian can never send a nuke at us, the technology you brought back with you has saved all of us and now I want to save you and this place. I came here with a team of people I thought were under my command, little did I know they were all under her control and that assumption nearly got me killed but Pete saved my bacon that day."_ He smiled like a little kid and looked away from her.

                              At that moment Terra knew he wasn't lying to her, ever fiber in her body told her that neither Pete or Danse or even him had ever lied to her, and for that she was very thankful. It didn't matter much anymore what happened, she had changed so much of the internal workings of this place was it was originally intended that it wasn't even the same to anyone anymore but they didn't seem to notice it much it at all. She in all her might, and misguided glory felt betrayed and hurt by this, but also a feeling of liberation and freedom was beginning to shine through. If she stopped Janet and the task force she would bring with her, then and only then would they be able to live in peace, all of them.

                            _"I need you to go over everything with the three of us Agent Madexx. These men, the Brotherhood of Steel, they need to know the truth about it all and even about me."_ He ground his teeth so hard against each other it made a nasty crackle in the room, filling the space between them.

                            _"I will do whatever it is you want Terra. Just tell me one thing first."_

 _"What's that?"_ She stood up from the table.

                               _"Do you love him?"_ The question stung like a thousand bees.

                               _"Who are you referring to here, Madexx?"_

                               _"Paladin Danse."_ His face was strong, his jaw line hardened by her lack of volunteering the information he was so seeking.

                             _"Yes, I do. He's the first man I have ever met that made me feel like a human being."_ Her gaze was soft and pleasant, it wasn't what he was thinking she was going to say but it suited him fine, he was happy for her. It was a rare moment, he got to see her glow before his eyes as she thought about Danse, the time they spent together and what they had both been through. Her radiance was so much that he couldn't take his eyes off of her, he had never seen her like that before and he was glad he got the chance to see her shine.

                                She tapped on the steel door with the tops of her callused knuckles, the door swung open and Madexx laid his eyes on Paladin Danse for the first time and he was followed by Pete Astre. He now understood why she was in love the Paladin, he was everything she needed and a bit more. The way she was around him for comfort and confidence, something Madexx felt she had lost over the years of being spit on and treated like a scab.

                               The two of them now flanked her as she stood with her arms crossed looking down at Madexx. Both Danse and Pete were now also staring at him, and it made him feel nervous in a way.

                              _"Go ahead Agent Madexx, tell them how I was going to destroy this place, steal everything out from under them and then let this world collapse on itself. Then tell them about Janet, how you ended up here and what we are now up against, because I have a sneaking suspicion that they will all be too thrilled with it."_ Her tone was mean but truthful, she gritted her teeth as she let it hiss there her teeth at the end and everyone found that to be rather, terrifying.

                              Madexx licked his lips and started with Terra's story, who she really was and why she was there. _"Captain Terra Hulsey, born in California in 1981 to Air Force parents, both died during combat overseas. She excelled at everything she put her mind to, eventually became a test pilot for the Air Force but under the guise of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, also known as the CIA. I was her handler, she never knew that until now but I was behind her every step of the way. She was a spy and didn't even know it, she was sent her was she said but this is not the place she was originally intended for. This place was a video game, nothing more, until she arrived and it changed everything, now this place is as real of the world from wench she and I came. Now we have to save it because if she dies in here the worlds will collide and everyone here and there will die, exploding on the molecular level, it would be the end of life as we know it."_ Both Pete and Danse looked as if they had been shot, the truth was out there for what it was, and Danse knew a hell of a lot more than that, but he kept it all to himself out of respect for her.

                              Pete mulled the facts around in his head and said nothing, he had no words to describe what he just heard in any way, shape or form.

                               Terra leaned forward into Madexx's face, _"Tell us about the plans Janet Langdon has for the invasion."_ Her tone was like death's sword reaching out into the dark looking for soft flesh to strike down. Madexx's green eyes watched her as she stood back up and leaned slightly against Danse. He could feel the sweat trickle down his brow and into his eyes, the nerves in his body bouncing with adrenaline and here he looked into the eyes of a predator, one of which he helped to create.

                     _"She is looking to strike the Prydwen and then the Institute, but she already has a man in the airship to assassinate the Elder. After that the first main force will touch down at the airport and strike the airship down to the ground with probably sixty to seventy men strong. The second force will land at Sanctuary Hills and slaughter everyone there, it will be a blood bath and they will send the last force to Quincy, clean out the area and converge into the Commonwealth against the Institute as a whole. They will all be sent here in the coming hours of dawn, and if I were you I'd hope that you have a hell of a plan in place to take them all out as the arrive. The portals will all remain open until they are closed manually, each one can close by either a transponder signal by way of the Satellite station here known as Olivia or by remote device but to close them all permanently you have to send a bomb through the Olivia station to the other side. Boom, one package, one sentence and all done and over with."_

                             Terra smiled and stood up straight, her tapping on the tabletop stopped and they all looked at each other.

                             _"Get on the horn to the Prydwen and tell them the good news, then tell them the bad and later we'll get to the ugly."_ She said with great satisfaction as they all started for the door.

                             The man objected as they opened the door. _"Hey! What about me?"_ He shouted at them.

                             _"What about you?"_ She said with a smile.

                             _"Are you going to let me go?"_ He said a bit desperately.

                             _"Um, no, not yet anyway."_

                             With that they all left him sitting there, the door closed and they walked into the old command center of the radio station. Paladin Danse got on the radio channel reserved for emergency use by the Brotherhood, the dawn had not yet come and there was still time for troop movement as the Brotherhood soldiers, now under the direct orders of Paladin Pete Astre, were getting ready for a major offensive against these Task Forces.

                             _"Prydwen how do you copy over?"_ Danse let go of the mic, waiting for a reply and they all knew that it only took one mistake for everything they ever knew to go away.

 

                             And for what? A simple senseless act of greed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading and I hope we can have a great time finishing out this story so very soon! Leave kudos if you like and thank you!!!


	20. Blood Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's dawn over the Commonwealth and some many plans are coming to together at once, some many moving parts that all it would take is one mistake, and it would prove to be the last dawn not only here, but also on Earth.

                               Captain Kells almost couldn't believe his ears when he heard the transmission, he didn't know where Paladin Danse was or how he was able to contact them on that channel after reports had come in that he and Terra were missing from Sanctuary.

                               "Prydwen do you copy, over?" He called out again only a few seconds after the first time and Kells hooked the mic and responded to him.

                               _"This is the Prydwen Paladin, we copy you loud and clear, what is your location?"_ Kells was optimistic that he was at Sanctuary but the answer that came was borderline absurd and surprising to the Captain.

                               _"We are at the former Gunner's Plaza, it is now under Brotherhood control, over."_

                               The words shattered Kells' thoughts and reverberated through the deck like a drum, the others looked at him in confusion as to how that could even possibly be, and a strong silence fell over them all leaving only the hum of the engines in its wake. Kells didn't know how to respond to that statement, but he licked his lips and smiled as the thoughts slowly rose in him.

                               _"Copy that Paladin, how many strong and is Captain Hulsey with you?"_ He let the message click in the repeater before he let the mic handle go. Paladin Danse and Terra smiled at the surprise in his voice as the transmission cleared on their side.

                              _"We have over three hundred able bodied Brotherhood soldiers here and Captain Husley is also present here, along with another Paladin, Pete Astre."_ Kells was relieved and excited to hear the news, a long lost name of an old friend, Astre. He was so visibly moved by the sound of the name that tears welled up in his eyes as the rest of his deck crew looked on. He had to choke down the emotions that were now rushing through him, as he began to formulate the sentences that would prove to shatter the now stagnant air.

                         _"Paladin Danse, there has been a situation here but now that's it resolved we are back on track for the mission. I will dispatch Ingram to your location with the Captain's upgraded gear and for both you and Astre as well. I'm glad to hear that everything is under control and that we have such a fighting force there and Astre , I'm glad he's still alive. There will be a vertibird inbound in a few minutes, keep an eye out for her. Paladin, you're running low on time, everything is in place we are just waiting for them."_

                               Danse and Hulsey smiled and nodded at each other as the message was received, they were all waiting for the inevitable and they had no idea how harrowing it would end up in the moment of truth.

                               Astre was getting his forces ready down below, briefing the Brotherhood soldiers with their squads and then he started his own speech, something they had all been waiting for during the time they had all been placed under his guide. Most of them had on what little bit of the Brotherhood uniforms they had and a few of them had power armor, including Pete. He had a huge audience, almost all of the Brotherhood soldiers that were loyal to him were standing on the floor below looking up to him as he approached the railing, their battle torn faces ready for a blood thirsty fight and the silence was the largest show of respect for such a leader.

                            _"Brothers and Sisters, we have all been stolen away from the main body of the organization but now is the time to return, regain our lives and take back from the evil forces of this world and put it all back into its place. We have a mission on our hands to save this world, and now we are all free from the Gunners, we are the Commonwealth Brotherhood of Steel Chapter! Captain Hulsey and Paladin Danse were the missing link to our salvation and now that we have attained a free status we are to help them fight a new foe that threatens our very existence, if it weren't for them we would still be slaves to the Gunners and we will wipe the rest of them from the face of the earth after this mission is over, that I promise you! For now we have our orders from the Elder, Arthur Maxson he has brought the Prydwen here to fight this foe and we need to back our Brothers and Sisters for this, they will have our backs all the way afterwards for the cleanup and reintegration so let's give 'em hell and make sure they don't try to take what doesn't belong to them ever again!"_ He thrust his fist into the air and the place erupted into cheers of joy and acknowledgement, the Brotherhood soldiers that had been taken, some of them so long ago like Pete, were now united in taking down the Task Force teams that were on their way to destroy what they fought to get free from and their freedom as well.

                              Little did they know that it was actually much worse than that, probably better that they didn't know it. 

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                            The dawn was creeping across the sky as Captain Kells called the vertibird back that carried the 'Elder' and his security team. Anderson had the body of the Russian assassin secretly searched by a secondary team of Knights, revealing papers for a more sinister plan than anyone could have ever guessed at and one that Danse and Terra now know from Agent Madexx, or at least the jest of it.

                             Ingram and two other Scribes were taking the new X-01 power armor down the hallway when he stopped her and pulled her aside into the medical bay with himself and Cade. He held the papers in his hands, they were slightly shaking as the pain from the injury ripped through his body and he slowly fell back into a chair against the wall.

                            _"Anderson, are you okay?"_ She asked as she helped him to a seated posture. He nodded his head and handed her the papers. _"Make sure these are given to Captain Hulsey when you get to the Plaza, thank you Ingram."_ She took them, secured them in her armor and walked away nodding to him as Cade helped him back onto the bed in the bay. He would soon be asleep, not because he wanted to be but because his body told him it had to be sleeping now, and he succumbed to its needs as he listened to her steps vanish down the hall with the metal casters following her along. The steel down closed slowly with a gentle clang and his eye lids fell with its closing as Cade looked on at him and watched his vitals.

                            Ingram was on the vertibird with the gear for the Captain as the other vertibird was latched to the flight deck next to her. The Elder acknowledged her actions as he disembarked with his security team and they vanished inside the belly of the airship to meet with Captain Kells about the situation at Gunner's Plaza.

                           Ingram gave the order and the flight began, the dawn was just beginning to kiss the sky with a bright red vibrancy, and she took notice of it, she had never seen a blood dawn before, and as a matter of fact she knew none of them had, it was the first sigh of what was to come.

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                          Danse and Hulsey met back up with Astre as he walked down the hallway with his most trusted advisor a man named Eckler. They were clad in power armor, ready for the fight as both parties met Eckler hugged Hulsey and shook Danse's hand. The man was probably about thirty five, not very tall but very lean in his expression.

 _"I can't ever thank the two of you enough for what you have done here for all of us, thank you and Ad Victoriam!"_ He left them all standing there as Astre showed them to the storage area to collect Danse's armor and the rest of their gear. Danse was beyond pleased to be back in his gear again as the sounds of a landing vertibird and a subtle thump overhead made the most of their morning.

                           Terra smiled at them both with great delight flashing in her eyes, _"It's here. Time to move."_ She spoke in a low but excited tone as she exited them room and headed for the roof. Ingram helped unload the gear onto the roof and was greeted by several Brotherhood soldiers that she thought were dead and gone, she stood there as if she had seen a fleet of ghost ships around her and she felt like she had died for a moment before snapping out it. The soldiers gave her and the Scribes a hand with the gear as she started hugging them and they all start smiling and making jokes about _'the old days'_ before they had been captured.

                           Hulsey exited to the roof, dressed in her black Brotherhood uniform when everyone got quiet, and she approached Ingram with a smirk over her face.

                         _"Ingram, glad you made it, I see you have met only a small few of the Brotherhood that have been trapped here, it's good to see you and now it's time for the battle of a lifetime. You should get back to the Prydwen, they are going to need you there and thank you for bringing this here and making it work for me. After this is over just remember, I'm buyin!"_ She slapped Ingram on the arm and she smiled at her, she handed her the papers that Anderson had taken off the Russian man that was on the Prydwen.

                          _"These were from an assassin that boarded the Prydwen and made an attempt on the life of the Elder. He's dead now but you need these, it shows the insertion points, we made a copy and have troops en route now. Terra, please be careful this is bigger than any of us had ever thought it was."_

                            Terra took the papers, placed them in her pocket and shook Ingram's hand. "Thanks Ingram, I will be." Terra got in the X-01, did a little run down and finally put the helmet on. Everyone there looked on in awe of her, she was really the 'hero', they all thought, and Ingram slowly got back on the vertibird.

                            _"I hope you make it Captain."_ She whispered she and her team took off for the Prydwen and Terra Hulsey disappeared back inside.

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                           The dawn was coming fast, Doctor Langdon and the brigades of men that formed the Task Forces were ready in their separate portal rooms for the insertion.

                           _"The systems are all ready ma'am."_ The controller said from the command center as Janet adjusted her rifle, she wasn't ready for an assault like this but it wasn't her choice now. She looked up at the command center as the people behind the glass walked back and forth making final calculations and the countdown clock was started on the wall.

                          _"Good, make sure everyone is in place we're all going in at once. This is a one shot deal, no fuck ups here boys, it's now or never."_ She said into the comm set she wore on her head under the combat helmet.

                           _"Copy that Doctor."_ The acknowledgements from the four different teams came over the line as the system hissed and the electrical currents flashed around the room, snapping against the huge Tesla coils in the corners of the rooms. There were at the very least forty soldiers per group, but on the Doctor's group there were fifty three, and they were all going to the Olivia Station. Janet had the best weapons they had to offer, including a devastating EMP weapon that would probably kill anyone wearing power armor and an EMP bomb that definitely would. Even though she only had the one bomb she knew it would be enough to take out Terra if need be, and the weapon had only five shots in it so everyone had to count.

                          The platform rose out of the floor slowly and all of them stepped on it, shielding the bomb from the massive rings in the center as they began to spin and Janet could feel it in her gut, that twinge of betrayal that was just beginning because she knew what a fool she had made Captain Hulsey into and Hulsey could only be fooled once by the same foe.

                          They all stood on the platform as the facility shuttered, the quakes made them all feel very uneasy but they never lasted long as the gyro-system compensated for them, and the sequence was started. The beginning of the end.

                        _"T-MINUS TEN, NINE, EIGHT---"_ Janet stood so very still as the platform shook violently causing everyone on it to fall to their knees, and she looked straight up into the carrier signal as it started to open up into the machine, she saw the universe, the Milky Way galaxy and shooting stars passing by as if he were now floating in space. It was mesmerizing to her as the ring spun faster and faster, the nano suits squeezed them, holding their molecular structures stable as the signal strength increased around them.

                           _"SEVEN-SIX-FIVE--FOUR---"_ The voice of the controller was getting harder and harder to hear was the wail of the steel around them made an overwhelming shriek. She suddenly couldn't breathe, the suit was squeezing her harder and harder as she crumpled over on her knees over the bomb. The distortion of everything stretching and popping made her clamp her eyes shut as the final sequence was typed into the machine.

 _"Final firing sequence initialized! All coordinates locked on and loading system parameters now! T-MINUS THREE--TWO--"_ The entire world and everything in it stopped momentarily, the firing sequence happened already didn't it? Janet felt everything stop and then it spun out of control!

                       _"ONE--System firing! Repeat System Firi---!"_ The world was ripped violently form one side to another, the men all hunkered down against each other as Janet clung to the bomb and they were thrust into the system or rather to the world of Fallout. The bright orange flashes of light snapping at them as they were bursting through the quantum dimensions, breaking the laws of physics and landing themselves in their respective locations.

                           The bouncing, violence of entering this world was hard on everyone, as the portal became unstable and reestablished at the point of entry with them still inside the carrier wave. They all fell flat to the floor with their gear as the orange beam sliced through the sky and burst into the five different places all at once, all the rest leaving as they arrived but the one at the Olivia Station.

                           Janet and her team slowly moved out of the portal beam, pulling the bomb with them into a secure corner of the building as the Doctor staggered to the control terminal to set the frequency parameters for the portal to widen and hold stable for the duration of their visit. She was helped to a standing position by one of the men as the rest of them made barriers around the area inside for the impending assault from the Brotherhood and whomever else was going to come down on them for their actions. Janet was typing frantically into the console when the pounding on the blast door started, it wasn't what any of them expected, it was an army of synth's from the Institute.

                         They started burning through the door with torches as the squad leader was now screaming at Janet to hurry with the force field activation system for the facility but it just wasn't working, there wasn't enough power for it to activate when they burst through the door, pouring in like angry ants.

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                         Everyone in the Commonwealth saw and heard the bright orange flashes of light as they created instant thunderstorms high in the atmosphere above them, the earth quaked with a dire warning and the blood dawn had started to rise as their new enemy was rushing down through the sky, hurdled towards their destinations by an advanced technology that no man should have their hands on.

                         The three Gunner vertibirds had lifted off the roof of the Plaza building, the rest of the Brotherhood soldiers there disbursing into the surrounding areas as indicated on their maps, ready for the invasion forces, so they could be crushed. Danse, Pete and Terra watched from their vertibird as the snap of the bursts, all five of them, ripped the sky open like an invisible can opener and shot their data wave carrying the task force down to the surface. The blood red sun soaked into them as it struck every surface of the bird and their power armor. Terra felt the first stent of anger pulse through her body as she watched the largest burst hit the Olivia Station and remain as the others faded quickly back from wench they came.

                         The Brotherhood Knight, Olivia, and he soldiers at Sanctuary Hills felt the earthquakes moments before the sky opened above them, and everyone there had at least one weapon in their hand as the Task Force dropped in like death from above, immediately opening fire on everyone with all types of weaponry and fires started in the old neighborhood that could be seen for miles. The group that hit them was seventy five strong and so heavily armed that it looked very bad as the fight began with bloodshed as fast as the sky had shit them down upon them.

                        Onboard the Prydwen Elder Maxson stood at Paladin Anderson's side as his friend lay resting, sleeping without dreams and the radio cut in with the news of the portals in the sky. The bloodshed at Sanctuary Hills, the Airport, South Boston, Olivia Station and near the edge of the Glowing Sea. The airport could be seen clearly from their position over the ocean from the observation deck and Captain Kells watched the assault on the _'fake'_ Prydwen as the hologram was fired upon over and over again until Liberty Prime began blasting the area with his laser, killing many of the invasion force and the fires from the airport started to rise into the sky as the blood color sunlight soaked everything with the dire warning of death at all angles. _Now all everyone saw was red._

                       The Airport saw a huge influx of death, the invaders had flame throwers and burned everything they could before Liberty Prime opened up on them. Most of the Brotherhood soldiers fared well against them but the first wave that hit knocked out a lot of the power to the airport before they could take them all down. That battle was a scar on the Brotherhood that blindsided them but it had come with little fatalities and few injuries which was a huge surprise to many. It was a massive distraction tactic and Terra knew it all too well. 

                      The fighting in South Boston was obscured by the smoke in the air, the blood sun and the rest of the fighting elsewhere. The Minutemen had the situation under control for the most part as the invasion force made the mistake of landing inside of a huge raider community. Olivia Station, that's where the action was, as the synth's busted down the door and the Task Force that had gone with Doctor Langdon opened up on them with EMP weapons, dropping them instantly as the arcs of electrical current danced from synth to synth to synth in a chain. Most of the secondary team didn't fire their weapons at them as they all fell into each other, like a heap of nothing more than metal and hydraulics. Doctor Langdon didn't even bat an eye at the fire fight as she worked at her terminal, but in the back her mind she knew Terra was coming for her and it was going to get very personal, very quickly. Terra was letting the rage boil just under her skin, it made all the hair on her body stand on end as the fires started across the Wastes and _she could smell the burning bodies in her mind, it was all in her mind._

                    It was going to end so very badly for Doctor Janet Langdon and Terra promised herself to see to it personally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I hope you like it and thanks for reading!


	21. When Worlds Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle begins and who will be the victor?

                               The Institute held up their part of the deal, the synth army was attacking Olivia Station with everything they had, but no one thought that they had the weapon capability that they did, and it was devastating for them. The Brotherhood was being pushed back by the gun fire and grenades from within the facility's first floor and the Task Force was dug in pretty well in that position. Thankfully Terra and Danse knew of the other entrance for the station not far away through an underground tunnel system that was once used for the transport of the warheads and other communications equipment during the installation phases of the project before the war.

                                The three vertibirds were soon landing about a half mile north of the station and entered the old transport system through a manhole in the street, with Pete, Danse, Terra and twenty five others they all ran through the tunnel together. Terra was in the lead, in her prototype X-02 power armor, the only difference between the x-01 was the fact that this armor had an emergency eject system, and that was only used as a last resort of need be. She had the red blood rage written across her entire being, after deploying down the hole from the blood sun rise, the burning bodies smoke filling the air and the hate she now felt burning her brain as they all made a short trip down the tube, into the lion's den and she knew how to operate like this. It was just the same way she felt when she came into the system for the first time, the gun fire, the blood smell over the air and that feeling of dire need in the back of her mind, the need for bloodlust was now there, and not the need to help.

                                As they approached the entrance doors where a large group of synth's made entry she could see the bodies strewn across the hard concrete floor, she felt as if they were standing in the killing fields of battle and she couldn't have been more right. An arc of electrical discharge from one of the weapons got their attention as one of the men shot another synth that teleported into the room and it's body slammed hard against the wall and slid down to the floor in a sputter. She gave the signal to those with her to crouch down and wait as she slowly advanced and activated her stealth boy. She had secure communications with Danse through her helmet thanks to Ingram and she slowly made her way into the piles of bodies that blocked the blast doors into the command center.

                               The guard that had shot the last synth was now crouched down looking intently at one of them just inside the door way as she stopped and stayed absolutely still. Her team waited in the darkness of the tunnel for her next command via Danse as she watched the man look at the synth. She scanned the room and soon found Doctor Langdon, making an attempt to activate the force field generator system to protect herself from the next attack and bring in reinforcements. She narrowed her gaze at her as she was typing away at the main terminal, the man slowly stood up and walked back over to her.

                                _"These things are pretty damn creepy doctor, I hope that we don't develop them in our world, I just don't think it would go over well if we did."_ He turned his back to her and stood guard just to her right. _"You are not paid to think out loud soldier."_ Doctor Langdon muttered as the typing continued uninterrupted.

                                 The man sighed and shrugged, then he started to walk away from her, leaving her unprotected. Terra smiled at this as she let the man pass by her so very slowly, only inches away from her right side and into the tunnel where Pete grabbed him and snapped his neck in the dark, letting his body slowly fall to the floor without a sound.

                                 The communication link in Danse's helmet came to life with a snap and slight crackle. _"Paladin, move the team into the room, the Doctor is now unprotected, this is the time to strike, wait one---,have everyone but Pete start ripping out the electrical conduit out of the walls in the tunnel and you and Pete meet me at the blast doors for entry."_ Her voice confident and commanding.

                                _"Copy that Captain, moving into position."_ He replied giving the orders and having Pete follow him over to Terra's position as she turned off the stealth boy.

                               _"Okay she's making an attempt to activate a force field zone around this room to protect herself, the bomb and the next series of Task Force soldiers to come in from the other side. We need to make sure she doesn't get that active, disarm that bomb, place our bomb here and launch it back down their god damn throats."_ Both men nodded at her as Danse pulled out a small, but powerful mini nuke that had been modified to explode with twenty times the force it was originally designed with.

                                  They stood in unison as the power was shutting down in banks from the men ripping the conduit out and grounding the power cables. The doctor became very nervous as the sounds of electrical failure soon filled the facility but she still had power at the main terminal. Terra entered the room, flanked by Danse and Pete with their laser rifle drawn as the doctor activated the force field, locking all of them inside the room together and the orange beam from the portal stood in the center of the room pulsating and snapping at the air. The bomb laid on the floor not far from them as the slowly approached the doctor who now looked directly at Terra, her smaller stature from the two men gave her away immediately and she didn't look very happy to see them.

                                 _"Oh I see you have decided to join the party, go thing I really didn't want to have to hunt you down."_ The Doctor's tone was low and sinister as they slowly walked to her position and she kept one hand behind her back as Terra drew down on her.

                                _"Thanks for such an elaborate going away party, all this just for me, how thoughtful of you."_ Terra replied to her with much caution, she had seen what Janet was capable of before and now she didn't take very many chances. Janet started to smile at them as they got to about four feet of her and Terra knew right then the trap had been sprung, the only thought she had through her mind at that very instant was 'the bomb.' The last sound to enter the room in that same moment was a simple little click, the sound of a detonator switch.

                                  Terra dropped the laser rifle she had in her hands and turned to the bomb just to their right side as the first shock wave rippled through the room, throwing both Danse and Pete backwards with horrific force, knocking Danse's helmet off. They both slammed to the ground about ten feet away as she slammed her body over the bomb, listening to the internal power unit spool up to maximum power with a strange humming sound similar to that of a defibulator in a hospital. Both Danse and Pete lay unconscious on the hard concrete floor of the room as Terra began punching the top panel with her steel encased fist, the electricity snapping around her with an insane ferocity. If she didn't pull the control board before the secondary shock wave hit they would all die before the actual bomb exploded, and the mini nuke that Danse had on him now laid on the floor nearest the doctor as Terra broke through the top steel panel tossing it away. It clanged across the floor and stopped up against a person using a stealth boy, his foot touching the edge of it and he became uncloaked.

                                It was Agent Madexx, how the hell he got out of the Plaza without being seen was yet to be determined but he was a spy after all, it was his job to keep Terra safe and now he was in the best position to finish his mission.

                                Terra was too busy pounding her fist into the mechanism of the bomb to see that he was there where the electricity found a defect in her helmet. A bolt of lightning snapped into the right eye of it and shattered the helmet into a thousand pieces, Terra was still ripping the circuit board out, it was in her clenched fist when she reeled back from the pain of the instantaneous explosive power of the raw electricity. It had hit her just under the corner of her right eye, dropped down to the corner of her lip, down to her jaw line, and it followed her jaw line across her face, down the left side of her neck and across the top of her shoulder and out the tip of her shoulder blowing the shoulder plate off into the room with a hot snap. The board was pulled from the bomb and it slowly died as she dropped it on the floor and fell to her knees. Her tears were running down her face, the electricity burned the scar into her face and it continued to burn as she looked over at Danse and Pete. Agent Madexx reached down and grabbed the mini nuke that Danse had dropped. Terra couldn't see anything but bright white light, the sudden snap of electricity had flash blinded her and now she couldn't stop crying. She thought about Danse and their relationship, how good it felt to be with someone like that it gave her fuel for the fire of hate that burned for Janet and what she had done to them all. Her vision slowly returned as Janet and Agent Madexx were now fighting over the small trigger in her hand, the mini nuke stuffed into his jumpsuit.

                                _"Get the fuck off! You don't belong here!"_ She shouted at him as they both fell to the floor, the sound inside the bomb started again and Terra just stopped caring as she reached over her left shoulder and pulled the eject cable. All the armor plates popped and dropped to the floor as the power armor frame separated with explosive bolts and shattered all around her. The blood was now slowly coming down from her nose and mouth and one ear as she reached for Danse and checked his pulse. He was still alive, the slow breathing he had in him made her smile as the scuffle between Agent Madexx and Doctor Langdon got even worse, when a shot rang out. Terra turned to see Madexx drop the smoking gun on the floor and catch Janet in his arms as she slowly fell.

                                Terra opened her mouth to say something when there were many bright blue flashes of light inside and outside the room. Through her blurred vision she saw Father standing there above her, he motioned something to Madexx before the bright blue flash hit again and she lost consciousness in transit back to The Institute.

                                Father had teleported in with around ten coursers to extract Danse, Terra and Pete from the room to take back to The Institute. The rest of the coursers , probably around seventy of them, collected everyone else within a three mile radius of the facility and teleported them all back to the airport for safety. Madexx held Janet in his arms, she was bleeding out as she cursed him and he activated the mini nuke and teleported them back into the system, from which they came just as the bomb in the center of the floor exploded, taking the place with it.

                               Everyone that had been taken away from the facility in the nick of time watched with the rest of the Commonwealth as the huge nuclear cloud blasted the facility up into the open air and the orange light vanished back into the sky forever.

                               The enemy had been stopped but at what cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it and stay around for the final chapter. Thanks for reading and have a great day!


	22. In the End.....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks after the demise of Doctor Langdon and her people, Terra Hulsey is under the care of The Institute as well as Paladin Danse and Pete Astre. Everyone is waiting to see if she'll ever wake up.... and The Brotherhood is about to get a big surprise handed to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the song from the record player in this chapter , Ozzy Osbourne-Dreamer  
> Link to song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCCiwPEdEpg&feature=youtu.be

                               Terra woke up in a dream, her body was laying in a medical bed in The Institute but her mind had traveled far away from there. She was back at her home in the desert, she sat on the front porch, at her hand sat a cold drink with a little umbrella in it and she looked out across the landscape as the sun began to kiss the horizon. The beautiful colors of red, orange, blue and teal filled the sky all around every conceivable view as she took a drink from the icy glass. The monitors in the recovery room with her stayed steady, the beeping pulsating through the hallways and other rooms in the wings, one holding Danse, and the other holding Pete Astre.

                               --Beep--Beep--Beep--

                               The doctors in the room watching her facial expressions, she smiled for a moment and it was gone. Most of her face was wrapped in a gauze dressing to help heal the electrical scar that was now burned into her face and protect her eyes and hopefully bring her vision back to what it was.

                               --Beep--Beep--Beep--

                                She swallowed the sweet drink and sat back into the chair. _"Oh what a fight this day is putting up, the colors are so vibrant, I wish---"_ Her words stuck in her throat, visions of Danse flashed through her mind as she watched the bright orange ball slowly vanish behind the far land mass. The tears slowly started down her face, she didn't want to cry but she couldn't stop it.

                              --Beep-Beep-Beep--Beep--

                              The change in pace made the doctor look over at the monitor and he noticed the tears coming from behind the dressings. He got on his radio immediately. _"Get Father over here right now there's been a change in her condition."_

                              --Beep--Beep--Beep--

                             She put her hand over her eyes as the tears rolled down her cheeks, and she remembered who he was to her. _"Danse...I wish you were here."_ She could feel the heat from the lost sun over her as the sky turned and the evening breeze was about to begin as it always did. She wiped her face and stood up from the chair and the glint of the chrome handle of a handgun caught her eye, it was her own .45 ACP 1911 sitting there as it did that day in the beginning, waiting...

                              --Beep--Beep--Beep--

                               _"Doctor, you said there was a change?!"_ Father asked as he almost ran into the room from down the hallway. _"Yes sir, she started crying."_ Father looked down at her face, the tears had all but nearly dried but they were there. He took a look at the tape print out from the heart monitor and it confirmed that she was still in there. It had been two weeks, she had been in some sort of coma, possibly induced by the electrocution she endured from the failure of the EMP bomb at the facility. Father put his hand on her cheek and felt that she was very hot. _"My god, she's still here with us, come on Terra please wake up."_ He turned to the doctor and took his hand away from her. _"Make sure she doesn't have an infection, I'm going to check on the others."_

                              --Beep--Beep--Beep--

                              Danse licked his dry lips and shifted slightly as Father sat by his side waiting for him to regain consciousness. He sighed out loudly as he found himself weak and hard to move anything in his body let alone even sit up. _"Easy Paladin, you've been through quite an ordeal, and the surgery was a great success. "_ Danse looked over at him with raised eye brows and a slight smile. _"What about---Terra?"_ The tear swelled up in his eyes as he choked to get the words out. Father patted him on the arm but that did little good to ease his sadness. _"She's starting to make progress, and Pete is going to make a full recovery here very soon."_ Danse sniffed a little and looked away from him. _"She held her end of the deal Danse and we saw that as a sign that she was who she always said she was, we want to help her just as much as you do so please, don't give up faith."_ Danse nodded in reply as Father stood up and started to walk away.

                               --Beep--Beep--Beep--

                               Terra heard the faint sound of a telephone ringing from inside the house and she didn't want to answer it but the damn thing just kept on. She turned her back to the sunset and walked inside and picked up the phone with a bit of a jerky movement. She ripped the receiver off the phone and slammed it against her head, _"Hello?!"_ The phone crackled, the voice on the other end seemed here and there and just as Terra started to take it away from her head it came in very clear. _"Hello, Terra, are you there?"_ It was the voice of Doctor Janet Langdon. Terra had a bewildered look on her face as the voice resonated through her ears. _"Terra? I know you're there, say something please."_ Terra stood still in the darkening house, she didn't know what to say to her and as she started to speak Janet spoke again. _"That's fine, you don't have to say anything, you'll be dead soon enough."_ With that statement the phone soon went dead and Terra set the receiver down on the phone shocked as all hell. There came a subtle knock at her front door, she turned away from the phone on the counter and walked back through the small cabin to answer the door.

                               --Beep--Beep--Beep--

                               X6-88 slowly walked down the hallway and met up with Father. _"Sir The Prydwen has been attempting contact on the emergency channel for several days now that communications are back up, don't you think it's time to bring them in now?"_ Father stood silent for a moment before starting to walk again. _"Yes I do. Patch them through to my personal quarters please."_ X6-88 nodded and walked away from Father as he made his way to his quarters for the call. He sat down at the desk and put the headset on, keying the mic on the tabletop and waited for a response. _"This is the Prydwen are we reaching you Institute?"_ The male voice sounded unsure if the transmission was even being sent out. _"Yes Prydwen this is Father. I hear you loud and clear, are you ready for a report?"_ Father shifted in his chair and waited for the man to return. This time the male voice was that of Elder Maxson, _"Yes Father, I'm ready."_ Father smiled as he started to make his little speech. _"We have Paladin Danse, Pete Astre and Captain Terra Hulsey safe here at The Institute, we require a meeting between you and I, Elder. I will send a representative to the airport for your admission into The Institute if you don't mind."_ Maxson didn't like all the secrecy but he agreed with Captain Kells it was for the best as Paladin Anderson spoke into the mic again. _"I will be waiting for you with another Paladin, we will be looking forward to this meeting with you Father."_ He handed the mic back to Kells as they started for the vertibirds on the flight deck. The Prydwen was almost back to the airport at this point so the flight would be very short. Elder Maxson grabbed Anderson's arm and he stopped on the flight deck. _"He doesn't know about this little arrangement does he?"_ He was a little shaken by the thought that he might be given up. Anderson turned back to him and smiled. _"No not a clue."_

                                --Beep--Beep--Beep--

                                Just as Terra's hand nearly touched the brass door knob the needle on the record player dropped and the song began to play in the living room, it was at a low volume but the song was rather striking given the situation she found herself in. The piano in the beginning of it gave it away from the start and her stomach sank. Gazing through the window at the world outside Wondering will mother earth survive Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her sometime She grabbed the door knob, turned it and slowly opened it to see Agent Madexx, his green eyes gazing right through her as he smiled at her and she motioned him inside, the sunset almost gone as he strode past her. The twilight reminded her of the night that she was with Danse on the catwalk outside the front of the police station and she longed to return to him.

 

                             _After all there's only just the two of us_

_And here we are still fighting for our lives_

_Watching all of history repeat itself_

_Time after time_

 

                              _"Hello Terra, I need you to do something very important for me. I need you to listen to me, okay?"_ Terra stood looking at him with confusion at what he was saying but she understood and nodded. _"Am I dead?"_ His eyes pierced her as the words passed by her lips and he didn't smile or make any expression at all to her question. _"No, at least, not yet."_

                             

                          _I'm just a dreamer_

_I dream my life away_

_I'm just a dreamer_

_Who dreams of better days_

_I watch the sun go down like everyone of us_

_I'm hoping that the dawn will bring a sign_

_A better place for those Who will come after us ..._

                            

                             This time She stood in shock as the song played on and her mouth was practically gaped open. _"What do you mean not yet?"_ Her tone was that of shock and disbelief. His expression softened as he started looking around the room at everything on the walls, the medals in their shadow box and the photographs in their frames.

                   

_I'm just a dreamer_

_I dream my life away oh yeah_

_I'm just a dreamer_

_Who dreams of better days_

_Your higher power may be God or Jesus Christ_

_It doesn't really matter much to me_

_Without each others help there ain't no hope for us_

_I'm living in a dream of fantasy_

_Oh yeah, yeah, yeah_

_"Terra there is a special thing about you, right now you're in limbo, your body and mind are--disconnected. If you go lie down in your bed right now and go to sleep, you will wake back up with everyone in the system, Paladin Danse, The Brotherhood and all the others, that will become your new world forever."_ He turned to her with a sparkle in his eyes. _"And if I don't?"_ She asked running her fingers over a picture frame of an airplane on the wall nearest to her. _"If not you will walk out that door with me and greet the end, death as we all know it. It will be all over for everyone in the system ad for you, as for me--well-- it's already over I'm just waiting for you to make a final decision."_

                           

                             _If only we could all just find serenity_

_It would be nice if we could live as one_

_When will all this anger, hate and bigotry ..._

_Be gone?_

 

                             Terra looked around at everything and into the bed room. _"You better hurry dear, when twilight is gone I have no other choice but to take you with me."_ She swallowed hard and started for the bedroom, she pulled the sheets back on the bed, kicked the shoes off her feet and laid down on the bed. He pulled the bedding up around her and tucked her into in. _"There see, I knew you would make the right choice, now just close your eyes and sleep."_ She looked up at him as he started to fade. _"Thank you Henry, for everything."_ He smiled down at her as she started to slip away. _"You're welcome dear Terra, goodbye."_

 

_I'm just a dreamer_

_I dream my life away_

_Today I'm just a dreamer_

_Who dreams of better days_

_Okay I'm just a dreamer_

_Who's searching for the way_

_Today I'm just a dreamer_

_Dreaming my life away_

_Oh yeah, yeah, yeah_

 

                           The song ended, the needle lifted off the record's surface and returned to its stand and the man known as Agent Madexx vanished into thin air leaving only stardust glittering in the soft twilight.

                            --Beep--Beep--Beep--

                            Elder Maxson arrived as Paladin Danse was standing above Terra, his hand on one side of her face as he looked at her with hope and need. _"She started to crash earlier but she has return to normal now, if you want to take her back to the Prydwen with you that is alright with all of us, I think she's out of the woods now."_ Father said to Maxson and Anderson as they slowly entered the room and Danse looked over his shoulder at them as they looked on at the scene there. _"Yes, we'll take them all back to the airship if you don't mind Father."_ Father nodded to them and smiled at Danse. _"Of course, we have locked onto the airship's med bay, we'll teleport you there now."_

                            The blue flashes snapped around all of them, Pete, Anderson, Maxson, Danse and Terra and they soon found themselves back on the Prydwen, Captain Cade dropped his coffee cup on the floor upon their arrival it was so shocking. Danse got Terra into the Paladin quarters and laid her on the bed, for the next five day he watched her.

                            Carly was finally reunited with her Father and they both enjoyed two days off to play and relearn everything about each other. _"Carly, where is your mother and brother?"_ Carly sat in the mess hall next to her father and she looked up at him with a smile. _"They'll be here tomorrow, Elder Maxson saw to it himself to bring them here, isn't that great?!"_ Pete smiled and hugged her. _"Yes it is."_ Carly hopped up and started her patrols on the airship, as a Squire she had to do them to get to the next training mission.

                            She walked down the hall and saw Danse watching over Terra as she slept, she remembered that her father watched her mother like that when she had been sick and so she entered through the open door. She put her small hand in his and he turned to her shocked that she was there.

                            _"Hi Carly."_ He said sadly. _"She'll be okay Danse."_ He smiled at her, the tears in his eyes and she hugged him. _"I have to go but I'll be back."_ He nodded as she started her patrol again, she didn't like to see people in pain, especially emotional pain. Danse tried hard not to cry over Terra, but the tears kept on. He stood up and put his hand on the side of her face, all the bandages had been removed and now he could see the extent of the damage she endured.

                            He leaned over and gently kissed her soft lips. She shifted and breathed in a little harder than normal as he pulled away from her, and her hand slid over to his side. She was starting to come to, Danse leaned down again and kissed her deeper as she finally responded to him, she wrapped her arms around him gently as they kissed and they both started crying. Their tears mixing on each other's cheeks as Danse crawled on the bed and gently laid on top of her.

                          _"Oh god Terra, I have missed you so much!"_ Terra buried her face into his neck and held him there. _"I thought I was dead Danse, I really did until I felt you here with me."_ They smiled at each other again before kissing very passionately and very deeply into each other again and again.

                          Pete Astre reached over and closed their door for them as a show of respect for the two of most brave people he had ever met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending Acknowledgements:  
>  Well it's all over.... What this has been for me was something that was truly amazing in so many ways that I can't list them all. It was a journey into the unknown and back, a way to walk from point A to point B in a different light and experience what it means to be a writer, even if I was a shitty one, and the happy little hints that people sent my way. It was a way for me to see the people of the internet community in a different way and appreciate what they go through as they write and what some of them feel as they write it. I would like to thank everyone that has read my work, the good, the bad and the ugly of it. I would like to thank everyone that helped me along the way on A03 with it and my sister, who really didn't understand until I was done why I did it. I never felt this way about a video game before, and I have played tons of them believe me (I am actually a huge Halo fan), but I never wrote stories for it because I never felt that 'human connection' to it, not like I felt with Paladin Danse. I have never imagined a place like this was even here, I didn't even know fanfic existed or even what it was until I found it one fateful day in December 2015.  
>  Thank you all for everything and I hope that you can take from these stories something, even if it's just little lusty things. I hope that my small journey into this unknown world of fallout fanfic made it worth- while for at least some of you and in the end I hope that whatever you did take away from these stories had some influence on you, not matter how small, it all matters even if you don't think that it would have.   
>  It has been a whirlwind of fun for the past few months and after all the dust has now settled I'm going on to be me, just plain old me and no one else, so thank you and remember to keep reading, in a way it's an art form and it can bring happiness into your life if you let it.   
>  If you liked my way of thinking then there is one thing you can do for yourselves that I think will strike you as it did me, play this song: Coldplay -Midnight (Kygo Remix): just loud enough for you to hear it, on a warm summer night, lay on the ground in the darkness and look up at the sky, and take in everything as the song plays in the background of your thoughts and maybe, just maybe, you'll get some inspiration from it or at least some peace. Always remember that the things you do in life, whatever it is that you choose to do, that the only real freedom we all have is the freedom to make our own choices and that can never be taken away.  
>  Godspeed to all of you and good luck.


End file.
